


The Continuing Adventures of a Time Traveling Padawan

by numair2304



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: infinite loops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2019-12-30 12:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 154,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18314876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/numair2304/pseuds/numair2304
Summary: Time loops with the rebel crew! Wacky shenanigans and insanity in general follow as Ezra tries to keep HIS sanity. Meh, at least it's hardly ever boring.Adopted from McRai thePrinx's 'The Adventures of a Time Travelling Padawan'. Chapters 1-20 are Rai's original work.Hello there! Just so you can have a general idea, let's explain the basics:Time loops are a phenomenon that happened because the computer running the multiverse, Yggdrasil, crashed for some unknown reason resulting in the near destruction of all reality. To preserve the universes and buy time the administrators set every reality on a time loop to prevent more damage occuring. Meaning a sort of Groundhog Day situation except... much longer and even crazier.Entities within the loops are selected to be loopers, beings that are aware and remember the loops.These loopers Awaken when they gain their memories of the loops, ending up with two sets of memories, one of their looping self and one of their unAwake self. The first person to loop in a universe is the Anchor. The Anchor (in this case Ezra) starts looping first and then people start looping depending on their connection to the Anchor.





	1. TAoaTTP 1

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
|"Speech"| : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**1.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra blinked.

"Dangit, not _again!_ " He groaned. "That's it, this is the fourth time I've restarted my life! I'm gonna go crazy if I don't do something different."

He ended up walking to town with a few (possibly illegal) objects and selling them (on the black market) for an obscene amount of money. That done, he got started on equipping his tower with computers.

A few months of online courses and he'd be ready for whatever would come his way.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"I'm very honoured to have you come by," Ezra forced a fake smile as he showed the Empire's representatives his 'public' base.

Somehow he ended up starting an online business, which got the attention of a lot of people… Most notably the Empire. It had taken a year or two for the business to really get on the intergalactic market but once it did his advanced security systems and firewalls were all the rage.

The classes he'd taken covered a lot of things, but he'd taken pretty well to computer programming.

As in, _scary_ well.

In no time he was designing complex computer programs and giving people advice on how to keep their personal systems safe and protected. A few big time business owners had offered to buy his 'products' but they'd never understood that he did everything for fun. It was only when one of them tried to steal his ideas that he realized it wasn't a good thing to be well known.

So he'd found someone willing to market his stuff but still keep his personal life private, making it so that he didn't have to sell everything he made like the others had wanted. At the same time he took all the profits because it was a private business.

Blue Time Corporations was a _very_ profitable company.

Meaning that he had everything he wanted and a lot of things he didn't.

Such as the Empire trying to buy out his company.

Now with how ginormous and influential BT Corps was there was no way they could succeed in forcing him into anything. But at the same time he was very well known as having a neutral stance when it came to the Empire.

Being so important in up and coming technology because of his programs, Ezra's manager had suggested very convincingly that he needed to stay on the good side of the Empire. At the same time they both agreed on not supporting the Empire either (Ezra had made sure his manager was pro-rebellion) because, well, it was the _Empire_.

So Ezra had to play nice and NOT follow his every ingrained instinct to toss the Empire representatives out of his house and set his security systems to 'vaporize'.

"The honour is ours, Mr. Bridger." The man in the lead practically purred. "We are glad you've allowed us to view your systems working at their finest."

Ezra resisted a roll of the eyes. After the first lifetime he'd gotten really good at acting and every ounce of skill was going into this 'visit'. He proceeded to show them around and demonstrate some of his security systems, not directly noticing when one of the women left the group to wander around herself but instead feeling it with the Force.

He decided to just let her do whatever. Things were getting boring anyways; Ezra never thought he'd miss being shot at while on the run from stormtroopers.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A few hours later he dodged a laser and bolted away from the group at a dead sprint.

It figures the Empire was trying to blow him up and make it look like an accident. Seriously though, he was the _expert_ on security systems. And not just firewalls either. Did they really think he wouldn't notice the woman trying to plant a bomb?

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tablet, using it to section off parts of the building so they couldn't escape. Again, _programming_ _genius_ , his bases had some really fun surprises hidden everywhere.

He was about to walk into his main security room but stopped in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow as the people in the room froze.

"So, I'm guessing you're here because of the bomb too?" He said dryly as they stared at him in shock.

"Um, look, I think there's some sort of misunderstanding here-"

"Oh no worries," Ezra walked into the room and waved them off as he went straight to a computer. "I know who you guys are and I know you didn't put the bomb there."

' _Is there some sort of cosmic plan that I meet up with these guys?'_ He thought to himself as the rebels stared some more.

"You do?" Zeb asked and scowled when Sabine hit his arm.

"Mmhmm," He hummed as he clicked rapidly on the keyboard. "Rebels, against the Empire, probably heard 'bout the Empire's plan to blow me up, really wish I'd heard something about that earlier by the way. You know you guys are actually kind of famous. Though the symbol is a dead giveaway."

"Step away from the computer." He stiffened when he felt a blaster at his back.

"Well at least you guys aren't idiots like they were." He shrugged and pointed to the screen where the representatives were milling around angrily in a small room. He turned around to see Zeb's rifle pointed at him. "Look, I'm not going to turn you guys in or anything okay? My company might be neutral but I hate the Empire."

"Wait, _you're_ Ezra Bridger?" Hera asked with wide eyes. "You're just a kid!"

He shrugged again, ignoring the blaster poking his chest. "A kid who really _really_ likes programming. I don't really care about the company or anything that comes with it, I just ended up really well known and had to protect my stuff after a few people tried to take it from me." Hera gave Zeb a look and smacked the rifle down.

"Can we get back on topic please?" Kanan said slightly irritated. "Look, you're in danger from the Empire. Since you don't support them they're going to target you. Things like this? Bombs? Bombs are going to be the least of your worries if you stay neutral. The Empire doesn't like the people it wants on different sides."

"I can take care of myself. Plus, I know you just want me away from the Empire so that they don't force me to make things for them." He gave a defiant glare at them all, trying really hard to not succumb to instinct and poke at Kanan through the Force bond. He'd learned that no matter how many times he went through the resets he always kept the bond with his master, even if the other didn't know it.

"That's not the point." Hera interjected with a sideways look at Kanan. "The point is, you're not safe, here or anywhere else the Empire knows about. We can help you to a place that _is_ safe; we do things like this all the time."

Ezra nearly smiled at the motherly twilek, he'd missed that in the past couple of years since his last restart.

"I'll go with you…" He trailed off, looking thoughtful and more than a little mischievous. "… _If_ you let me be part of your team."

"No way!" Zeb growled automatically. "We can't have some spoiled brat running around getting in the way-"

"What he means is, it's very dangerous and not the place for someone who's inexperienced." Hera cut the lasat off.

"I'm _not_ inexperienced, trust me on that." He snickered slightly. _'Oh if only they knew…'_ "Plus, you guys could use someone as good with computers and security as I am. Not to mention the Empire _has_ bought a few of my products and nobody knows them as much as I do."

"Uh huh, and what exactly can you do? I bet you don't even know how to use a blaster," Sabine snorted from underneath her helmet.

"So you think." He crossed his arms. "Either way, if you leave me here I can hide myself perfectly well and you guys would still be paranoid the Empire could get me. If you take me with you I get to stick it to the Empire, you guys get an expert hacker, _and_ you don't have to worry about the Empire getting their slimy hands on me."

Ezra waited confidently as they looked at each other, their eyes eventually settling on Kanan to make the decision. He had them right where he wanted them.

Kanan frowned in thought, thinking carefully. Ezra knew that even if he personally didn't want him along, he didn't have much of a choice. And wouldn't regret it later, much less after he revealed his talent in the Force. Which he _would_ be doing. He did NOT like having to pretend the bond didn't exist after having it for several lifetimes.

"I don't like it, but you don't exactly leave us much choice." Kanan shook his head as Zeb gaped.

"Kanan, you can't be serious! He's a freaking _kid!_ "

"He's a kid who was smart enough to manoeuvre us into a corner." Sabine noted with a bit of respect in her voice.

"Thanks." Ezra grinned as he turned back around to the computer. "Just give me a bit to grab my bag and we can leave. _Those guys_ aren't leaving that room anytime soon." He pointed to the screen where they were still stuck in a room as he tapped wildly at the controls. With a final, decisive click a small panel opened and flipped out a small stick. Ezra grabbed the USB and unplugged it, erasing most of the systems functions as he went.

"Did you just sabotage your company's entire mainframe from the inside out in a manner of seconds?" Sabine asked, slightly awed.

"Yep." He popped the p and flipped a hidden switch on the wall. A compartment opened and he pulled a backpack out, slipping it on along with his heavily upgraded energy slingshot. No way would he ever stop using it, though the dang thing was near useless until he'd put some actual electrical power behind it. "I'm ready." He turned to them and raised an eyebrow at their surprise. "I've been waiting for something like this to happen for _years_." He nodded.

Seems like he was off to be a rebel. Again.

_'It'll be fun seeing if anything changes this go around.'_

* * *

**1.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra yawned as he walked into the kitchen, still tired. This loop was driving him up the wall but he was _not_ going to miss a meal, dangit!

It seemed every one of the crew members were picture perfect representatives of a sitcom, being over dramatic at best and just plain idiotic at worst. Ezra swore if anything even near a musical or dance number started happening he was jumping ship and using his company's funds to live luxuriously on planet Tatooine. It was supposedly nice when you were looking to get away.

He rubbed his eyes and blinked when he saw Kanan and Hera arguing very loudly over what they would be eating for breakfast.

He turned around to leave the room at the same he rolled his eyes. A very _bad_ sitcom.

A few seconds later he turned back around and yanked a box of frozen waffles out of the freezer before stalking back out, the two arguing people not even noticing him.

Another weird thing was that they had some really out of place foods onboard for a ship, but Ezra wasn't complaining on that.

Now where did he leave that torch? He'd have to heat the dang things up to eat them and shooting at them with his slingshot was very likely not going to work very well… Plus the last thing he wanted was to let them melt and get soggy, soggy waffles tasted horrible…

* * *

**1.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"I can see clearly now the rain is gone!" Ezra sang loudly as he stepped over a puddle in the street, ignoring the stares he was getting. "I can see all obstacles, in my way!"

The others just facepalmed and remembered how weird their youngest crew member was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1.1: Ezra was bored. Bored loopers do one of three things: learn something new for once, blow something up, or prank someone.
> 
> 1.2: I figure growing up on the streets would make him unhappy to miss a meal once he started getting them regularly... Plus, variant loops. They're usually kind of strange.
> 
> 1.3: AKA: The pranking someone stage. Really, he's just gotten bored again. I'd imagine he's spent the entire loop song-quoting.


	2. TCAoaTTP 2

 "Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
|"Speech"| : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **2.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra couldn't stop the sigh.

Without missing a beat he turned straight around and refused to scream. Because Dangit, this particular one had happened in at least half of his repeated lives! He was used to this by now!

"Chopper, not gonna happen."

The droid whistled disappointedly and flicked off the hologram.

"Listen, I know you like your pranks and all but you _could_ try some new ones out," Ezra suggested carefully.

Chopper whirled angrily and waved his arms around.

"Whoops." Ezra facepalmed. "Riiight, I only just met you guys by now… Okay, so, don't blame me if I explain this wrong, I only heard this once from that time the dragon looped in…"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The next loop, Ezra gleefully reached into his pathetically tiny pocket dimension (every looper learned to make one at some point) and pulled out a USB.

"Yes! It worked!" He grinned as he plugged it into a computer he'd stolen and codes popped up. "Chopper is now a looper! Kind of… okay it's more or less a technicality, but still! Someone else in my loop is Awake!" He fistpumped and then realized something. "Dangit, I haven't met them this loop yet… Aw man! I can't upload his memories to his frame yet!" He pouted and sulked.

The computer warbled in a familiar tone.

"Oh shut up Chopper, it won't take long for me to be able to upload you to your frame anyways. I always Awake only a few days before I meet you guys."

* * *

 **2.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra watched with an evil smirk as the Inquisitor stalked the hallways of the ship.

So he thought he could mess with Ezra's mind in his dreams huh? Well Ezra was about to show him why you don't mess with the Anchor of your loop! Even if you aren't looping!

Ezra let a snicker out and the Inquisitor whirled angrily.

"Where are you boy?" He hissed angrily. "I don't appreciate having to play hide and seek with my prey."

"The better question would be…" Ezra trailed off as he let the mindscape shift into something else. "Where are _you_?"

The Inquisitor froze in shock. The boy was simply a Padawan, he shouldn't be able to tell this was a mindscape, much less be able to change it!

He then twitched when he found everywhere to be pink. And covered in ribbons. And confetti. And balloons, lots and lots of balloons.

"You see, I met this really weird creature a little while back. She _really_ liked parties." Ezra shrugged. "Oh, that and she gave me permission to use her as a mental defense."

"Hi!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra woke up and immediately started _giggling_ , not caring if it was undignified or not. No bad guy could stand up to the insanity that was Pinkie Pie!

"Uh, kid? You okay?" Zeb stood up to look at the top bunk with a worried expression.

Ezra just giggled harder.

* * *

 **2.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Kanan sighed and rubbed his forehead. This kid was getting on his nerves big time.

They'd stopped at Lothal to get some supplies and had run into a mute kid stealing from the Empire. They couldn't just leave him, especially once they learned he didn't have parents.

But he was incredibly annoying even without the ability to talk.

He made these weird signs and got aggravated at them when they couldn't understand him. When they tried giving him a name because he couldn't tell them his he repeatedly made raspberry noises until they gave up. When they left him alone for more than a few minutes he set up pranks everywhere, Chopper was the only one who really enjoyed _that_ since the droid rarely fell victim to said pranks.

He was a good kid, just... incredibly hard to deal with.

And now Kanan had walked in on the kid levitating a bowl and various cups around the kitchen, Chopper cheering him on with whistles and beeps.

Inwardly Ezra cackled hysterically at the dumbstruck look on Kanan's face when he saw him using the Force so easily. He waved at him with an innocent, eager smile and pointed excitedly at the objects floating everywhere. He wasn't _really_ mute; it was just a hilarious prank that he'd started and couldn't seem to stop.

"Um…" Kanan couldn't seem to form the words needed. This loop Ezra hadn't 'discovered' the lightsaber, so he didn't 'know' about Kanan being a Jedi. It had also been ridiculously easy to upload Chopper's loop memories and fill him in on the prank.

The droid had far too much fun corrupting Ezra the past few loops.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Dangit, no! That's not what you're supposed to do! _Chopper!_ " Kanan yelped loudly as he ducked a fruit.

Ezra doubled over in silent hysterics and then ducked another fruit. He gave Chopper a mock glare, but then couldn't help the silent snickers as Kanan had to duck the next one. He gave the laughing Zeb a thumbs up as he continued supplying Chopper with ammo.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra smiled at his team minutes before the loop ended. He sighed sadly, Chopper whistling slowly at him in agreement.

The droid wheeled over for Ezra to copy his memories for the next loop, the other members of the team watching the two in confusion.

"What are you doing?" Sabine asked, Ezra closing his eyes trying to remember that feeling of _belonging_.

He grinned sadly at them.

"By the way, my name's Ezra." He said seconds before the loop ended.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

He Awoke and leaned against the wall of his room in his tower, gasping as he laughed sadly. Their faces had made the trouble of pretending to be mute for a whole loop _entirely_ worth it.

The smile slowly fell as he remembered them. But then it rose again when he thought about what he could pull on them this time around.

* * *

 **2.4** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra gaped in shock when he Awoke.

"Karrabast." He moaned, trying to pretend his voice wasn't several octaves higher. "I've heard about these loops…" 'Erza' sat down on the edge of her tower and pouted in the face of a beautiful sunset. "At least I get to see what female lasat look like, I've been wondering about that…"

* * *

 **2.5** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra was sitting in his tower at a computer, having a vacation loop as the mysterious unknown owner of Blue Time Corporations, a revolutionary company that made high tech programs and only sold to certain people.

The Empire was definitely _not_ on that list of people.

At this point in the loops he was more than capable of creating his company out of nothing and then running it all by himself in secret. Nobody knew who he was. Nobody.

But that wasn't what was important at the moment. What _was_ important was the fact that Kanan had just poked him through the master padawan bond.

This meant that #1 the never before had happened and Kanan had discovered he had the bond with someone he didn't know or #2 Kanan was looping.

Ezra cautiously poked him back, feeling confusion and a twinge of terror in his master. When he responded with a surge of comfort, Kanan filled with relief.

 _|"E-Ezra?"|_ His eyes widened. Kanan had _never_ stuttered before. He realized why when he felt the desperation from the bond.

_|"Don't worry Kanan, I can explain everything. I'm guessing you're on Lothal if I can feel the bond this clearly?"|_

Ezra shook his head with a snicker as Kanan practically started babbling. He felt a little guilty for laughing at him though, he was just as terrified his first few loops.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A few hours later Kanan had snuck off to his tower and listened in awe as Ezra told him about the loops.

"So, time is broken."

"Pretty much."

"And you're a… 'stabilizer' so that our… 'loop' doesn't crash?"

"Yeeep."

Kanan rubbed his forehead. "I… I'm not sure I can handle this…"

"You get used to it." Ezra shrugged. "Oh hey, you know BT Corps? That belongs to me, by the way. I've had various versions of the thing made over the loops."

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to something like _this_ …" Kanan groaned.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Did you really have to tell them you were a full Jedi?" Kanan hissed to Ezra later.

"Hey, I'm older than you by like, fifty times over by now." Ezra defended himself. "I've been your Padawan for hundreds of lifetimes, there's not really anything left for me to learn!"

Kanan blinked. "I… didn't think about that. It's just-"

"You remember me as your Padawan." Ezra smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not all _that_ different. I'm just… possibly a little insane from having to repeat time over and over."

Kanan facepalmed.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Wait, you're telling me _Chopper_ was looping before me?!"

"It's a technicality, he's not actually looping I'm just carrying his knowledge over each time, but yes. He was looping before you."

"Oh come on!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The Inquisitor grinned maliciously but then froze when a pie smacked him in the face.

"Out of my mindscape!" Ezra yelled rather absentmindedly. He was too busy concentrating on the fact that Kanan was in his mindscape too.

"You will regret such a move, boy!" The Pau'an hissed murderously but then was hit by a party cannon as Ezra's Pinkie Protection activated.

"What the heck?" Kanan stared as a pink… something (pony?!) popped into existence and started terrorizing the Pau'an.

"Oh right, your first loop… she's a mental representation of a looper from a different loop." Ezra snickered as cake popped into existence. "The Inquisitor tries doing something with my mind at least once every three loops, I finally just did this so that I could have some fun with it." He waved at the now different mindscape as the Inquisitor tried frantically to withdraw from Ezra's mind.

The next morning the rest of the crew was worried for their Jedi members because they couldn't seem to stop laughing hysterically every time they saw the color pink.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan knew that the loops had changed his padawan. He knew that even though he looked exactly the same there were just some things that were completely different about Ezra.

Sometimes it was more evident, such as when he used credits earned from his company to pay for things that they needed despite Hera's objections. Or when he actually used his computer skills to hack into Empire databases or security systems.

He rarely made mistakes and even then Kanan knew they were mistakes that he had made in 'baseline' and that without those mistakes certain important things would not happen.

But sometimes he acted like the same Ezra that Kanan taught in that first loop, so long ago for the kid but such a short amount of time for him. Sometimes Ezra would pull simple little pranks on Zeb or Chopper that reminded Kanan that the loops hadn't changed his padawan very much when it came down to the basics.

A lot of the time Kanan couldn't help but wish the loops didn't exist, because there weren't supposed to be do-overs in life. It just wasn't natural for things to happen over and over again.

But then Kanan saw the things Ezra had done with his knowledge of the future. He saw the catastrophes that Ezra averted and the miracles he was able to help along.

It was moments like those that Kanan felt like their roles were reversed and Ezra had become the master, Kanan the naïve padawan following along in confusion. Then again, when it came to the loops that really was what it came down to.

Ezra knew so much more than he did. Ezra knew strange little pieces of information here and there that Kanan couldn't ever understand how he would remember, there were so many things.

"Hey Kanan?" He was brought out of his retrospection by Ezra appearing in the doorway of his room. "Think we could spar?" He tapped the lightsaber hanging on his hip (the lightsaber Kanan didn't even want to know how he'd gotten).

"Sure Ezra." He smiled.

No matter his feelings on the loops, he wouldn't trade this for anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2.1: Pocket dimensions, the Subspace Pocket, are pretty much a way for loopers to carry things between loops.
> 
> 2.2: This gets annoying after so many times. You can't blame him for having a little fun with it. This was also spawned by how many fanfictions there are of this. 
> 
> 2.3: Ah, pranking nonloopers. He could try pretending to be blind and use the Force to 'see' things around him. Who knows, that might actually be possible.
> 
> 2.4: The evils of genderbender loops. XD
> 
> 2.5: At this point Ezra's stuck between thanking god he's not all alone anymore and hysterically laughing at the fact his and Kanan's roles are reversed.


	3. TCAoaTTP 3

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **3.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Oh my God." Kanan gaped at the wings on his back.

"While we're here you might want to learn to say 'oh my Celestia'." Ezra snickered as he flexed his own wings easily.

"I'm a horse. No, _we're_ horses." Kanan couldn't think straight. This WAS. NOT. RIGHT.

"Ponies." Ezra corrected. "To be more precise, alicorns since for some reason that's what Jedi compare to."

Kanan continued to gape. "I don't… I… Please tell me I'm dreaming this. Please make this a really _weird_ and _freaky_ DREAM."

"Sorry, nope. Crossover loop. It happens a lot." Ezra laid a comforting wing on his shoulder. "I'm not being very helpful about this, sorry… Just breathe master."

"I'm a freaking _pony_ …" Kanan whimpered in shock.

"Well _this_ is going to be a very eye-opening loop…" Ezra sighed.

* * *

 **3.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

_|"Kanan I need someone here to help me right now who knows that I'm not insane."|_

Kanan blinked as Ezra talked to him through the bond. It was rather strange since it was a lot earlier than Ezra usually Awoke, but he grew worried when he felt the fear and terror from his padawan (screw the loops, Ezra would always be his padawan even if he'd surpassed him in skill a long time ago) leaking across the bond despite him trying to keep it hidden.

 _|"I'm on my way, it'll take me a while to sneak away from Hera though."|_ They were currently searching for supplies.

 _|"I don't care. Tell her you feel some sort of 'disturbance in the Force' or something. I need help **now!"** | _Kanan was scared now, Ezra was full on panicking right now and he needed to get to him _ASAP_.

He stiffened, Hera noticing, as images slipped past the strong mental control Ezra had developed from a violent flashback on the other's part.

"Kanan? Are you okay?" She asked worriedly as he took a deep breath to keep control of himself.

"I… feel something, some _one_ through the Force…" He winced as the images began filling with blood.

"Are they hurt or something?" Hera was all business now.

"Maybe, I don't know. I need to go _now_." He rushed off through the crowds, not caring if Hera was offended or not. His padawan was _hurting_ and he needed to get to him.

It took far too long for him to get to Ezra's tower and climb his way up and inside.

"Ezra?!" He found every light in the tower on as blindingly bright as they'd go, otherwise everything perfectly normal. "Ezra!" He followed the terror pulsing through the bond and found him curled up in a closet and shaking in horror, eyes glazed in the midst of a flashback. "Ezra, come on snap out of it!"

He didn't try touching him, knowing from the images being flung through the bond that it would only send him into a panic. Instead he pulsed comfort and safety through the bond, trying to pull him out of his mind. It took several minutes before the surges of emotion drew Ezra out of it enough that he could look up (albeit dazedly) at him.

"K-Kanan?" He whispered as he trembled violently.

"Don't worry Ezra, I'm here, it was just a memory. That's all over now." Kanan said soothingly, still pulsing positive emotions through the bond. "Whatever happened you're okay, you're safe now and you're not alone. I'm here for you." Kanan managed to lay an arm on his shoulder, slowly pulling him out of the closet. Once Ezra had regained enough sense he followed shakily until they were both sitting on a couch.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I couldn't handle it, I-I j-just…" Ezra sniffed, still trembling violently.

"It's okay Ezra, I'm here for you. I'll _always_ be here for you." Kanan was surprised when Ezra hugged him tightly with a sob.

"B-but you weren't, y-you couldn't be…." He cried as Kanan's eyes widened.

"Shh, I'm here now okay? I'm here now and I swear I'm not going anywhere…" He'd heard from Ezra before about loops where he wasn't Awake. He'd already hated not being able to be there for his padawan, but situations like this made it even worse.

All he could do was hold him and help him pull himself back together.

* * *

 **3.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Morning dad," Ezra said on reflex, taking note of the nearly imperceptible eye twitch. "You look kind of loopy today."

"Yeah, must have Awoke on the wrong side of the bed or something." Kanan said in response, sitting down to the breakfast table.

"You're talking all weird, dad, are you okay?" Sabine asked curiously from the stovetop.

They were living in an old farmhouse on what seemed to be a technologically stunted planet, with their widowed 'dad', a 'maid' that he'd hired years ago to help take care of them who'd become part of the family, and a 'hired hand' to help them with their farm work. Needless to say Ezra found it fascinating to see what Hera and Zeb looked like as humans.

"I'm fine, Sabine." Kanan's eye nearly twitched again and Ezra mentally cackled at the fact that he got to call him _dad_ finally.

"So, _dad_ ," Ezra knew from the slight glare he was sent that Kanan knew he was teasing him. "What's on the chore list for today?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_The next loop…_

"Sooo…" Ezra snickered at the full on eye spasm.

"NO."

"Oh come on, _dad_ ," Ezra cackled at the expression on his face.

"NO Ezra. N. O. NO!"

* * *

 **3.4** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Hey Kanan, where's Ezra?" Zeb asked as he played against Chopper in holochess.

"No idea." He paused when he realized what that meant.

"Exactly." Zeb groaned. "I don't want to _know_ what he's up to this time…"

Chopper beeped in mild irritation and whistled. ["And he left me out of it!"]

Kanan facepalmed.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"This is your fault." Sabine muttered to Ezra as the stormtroopers searched the alley. "How'd we even get here anyways?"

"I have no clue." Ezra lied. "But you have to admit, the looks on their faces was priceless."

"…" Sabine gave in to the urge to snicker at the memory. "Yeah, you're right… But I still blame you for getting us into this mess."

Ezra shrugged. "Hey, think you could get us up on the roof?"

"Maybe, but we'd be seen going up."

"Not if we use this." Ezra pulled out an egg.

"What do you-" Sabine's helmet automatically scanned the egg and informed her of the chemical mixture inside of it. "Oooooh, oh that's awesome. Very awesome. You're showing me how you made this."

" _These_ ," Ezra corrected and showed her two more.

She grinned underneath the helmet. "Go for it, I've got a flashbang grenade for added effect." She pulled out a small rounded object.

He grinned too.

Seconds later loud bangs and flashes of light filled the alley, thick clouds of a purplish smoke obscuring all sight. The two figures escaping by rooftop were never even noticed.

Hours later everyone on board the Ghost was morbidly curious over where their resident (organic) prankster had disappeared to. Hera had noticed Sabine was missing too, so went to her room to check on her.

"You have to be really careful, don't want to crack it." Ezra was sitting at her mixing table leaned over next to an egg sitting in a stand. Sabine was leaned over next to him doing what looked like pouring something into it. They were both wearing shirts covered in soot, thick gloves _also_ covered in soot, and protective goggles worryingly covered in soot as well.

"Do you think we could work some colors into it? Maybe make it so that the smoke stains things?" Sabine paused in her pouring and looked inside the tiny hole, pouring a little more.

"That's a great idea! We could make a few extra batches of the powder and see if it reacts to paint first, then try powdered paint…"

Hera turned around, not wanting to know what was going on. Plausible deniability.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra pulled an egg out of his subspace pocket with a grin. It had been several loops and he hadn't had a chance to use the smokebombs he had Sabine had made since.

But now was his chance!

With a cackle he threw it down and watched in amusement as the stormtroopers below the roof he was on became engulfed in thick pink smoke. It took a few minutes to fade away, but once it did he fell backwards in laughter as their armor was stained a hot pink.

Next to him Sabine gaped in shock.

"Where did you get that?!" She whirled to him as he cackled madly.

"I, uh, I made it." He snickered.

"No, _we_ made it! You remember everything too!" She accused as she pointed a finger at him.

"Woah woah woah, you're looping?" He stopped laughing.

"Looping..?" She gave him a strange look.

"That's the actual name for everything repeating the way it has been…"

"Yeah," She slumped in relief. "You mean I'm not going crazy?"

"Oh no, you probably _will_ go crazy at some point, but you're not yet." Ezra grinned. "How many times do you remember?"

"Only the original time and the one before now where we made those," She admitted, pointing to below.

"Oh, well, for me it's been a few since but that's not important. How did you hide it?" He asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, the last time was so… _weird_ , I mean, _you_ acting so… crazy. It just made everything so surreal I thought it was a dream. But now I guess it's not." She shrugged with a frown.

"Um, what just happened?" Hera asked Kanan quietly in confusion. He chuckled.

"It's a _loooong_ story Hera…" He shook his head. "But I am glad there's another looper…"

"What?" Zeb blinked. "You're not making any sense, what are we missing here?"

Kanan sighed. "Great, my first multiverse talk and you guys aren't even Awake…"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It was awkward at first because both Zeb and Hera weren't looping, but once Chopper was able to verify that no Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine weren't suffering from mass hysteria the two nonloopers had to deal with some very strange things.

For one, Ezra refused to pretend the whole thing had never happened like they had asked. For another it was really strange seeing Kanan acting up just as much as his padawan had previously, with Ezra acting up even _more_.

Luckily for them Sabine was just as confused most of the time.

* * *

 **3.5** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"You're kidding." Sabine was in Ezra's room pacing back and forth. "I'm not sure whether to laugh or scream in frustration."

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Ezra nodded. "I've never literally replaced Kanan before, which brings up the idea of whether we just switched roles with Kanan and Hera or there are going to be new people entirely." Ezra even looked like Kanan did, with the same hair and everything. The only thing was that it was still _him_ , just in Kanan's style.

Sabine was actually a twilek like Hera, again dressed in the same outfit as her. "Oh gosh I hope not, I don't want to _know_ what will happen with Zeb…"

"Only one way to find out, you know how Kanan and Hera first met him." Ezra shrugged. "We're literally in the right time to see."

"Are you serious?" She stared at him.

"Yep."

"Ugh, at least you already uploaded Chopper's memories…"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine tried so very _very_ hard to not facepalm when she saw Hera as a human in her own armor, but lost the battle.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra full on burst into laughter when he saw a teenage Kanan dressed like him.

"Oh go ahead laugh it up." Kanan scowled at him.

"What's going on?" Zeb whispered to Hera.

"I have no idea, but remember something similar happened when I joined?" She whispered back.

Sabine just shook her head at Ezra's antics as he kept laughing at Kanan.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"I hate you." Kanan growled as soon as he saw Ezra the next loop.

"Oh come on, you made a great me!" Ezra cackled.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3.1: I had to. I'm sorry for any nonbronies out there but I HAD to. Also, Kanan has probably only had a handful of loops at this point. This is really really shocking.
> 
> 3.2: I felt the urge to write some angst, and the loops are pretty bad sometimes... I don't know what his last loop was like.
> 
> 3.3: While Kanan admits he and Ezra have a father/son relationship he gets annoyed whenever Ezra tries calling him dad. Ezra spent the entire loop just digging it in that he could get away with it.
> 
> 3.4: This happened rather randomly... I wanted to have some NonAwake Sabine bonding with Ezra time, but then it evolved into her looping. After I wrote this I started to ship Ezra/Sabine. Not exactly sure why. But there will be some in the future of this story. You have been warned. It WILL be a thought out thing though.
> 
> 3.5: Again randomness. But you have to admit the mental image is hilarious. :P


	4. TCAoaTTP 4

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **4.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"What in the world is going on in here?" Hera gaped as food was thrown everywhere.

She yelped when Kanan pulled her down to hide behind the table, which had somehow been flipped on its side to be used as a shield.

"Food fight, don't ask us how it started we have no idea." Kanan used the Force to throw a guava back over the table.

"How'd you guys get a guava?!" She said with wide eyes.

"No clue!" Ezra hollered from the other side of the kitchen where he and Sabine were flinging food over at Kanan.

"Come on Hera, loosen up a bit!" Sabine poked her head into view just in time for Kanan to nail her with a pie. "Oh come on!" She whined. "I only just got the gravy out of my hair!"

Hera was frozen for a few minutes as food kept flying everywhere that was definitely _not_ in the ship's cupboards the last time she checked. Eventually she couldn't help but laugh hysterically and join in.

"If I'm going crazy at least I can have some fun doing so!" She called as she chunked a cupcake at the other side.

"That's the spirit!" Kanan laughed and handed her another.

* * *

 **4.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"It's not the same!" Chopper whined. "I wanna be a droid again!"

Ezra rolled his eyes. "Look on the bright side, now that you technically have an actual soul I won't have to keep uploading your memories."

"YESSSS!"

"Why do I get the feeling that you're going to Awaken in the factory and cause our lives to be living hells…"

* * *

 **4.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra tried to hide the blush on his face as Sabine muttered agitatedly.

"You aren't looking, right?"

"Of course not!" His voice cracked and he inwardly cursed the fact that he was forever a teenager going through puberty.

"You better not be or I'll freaking kill you…" She growled, trying to cover herself up with her arms.

Their day off had ended fast when stormtroopers led by Agent Kallus had seen them and an inconveniently placed crate of explosives and a stray blaster shot had pretty much caught the both of them on fire. Obviously, this lead to the awkward situation of them hiding behind a dumpster in nothing but burnt rags. Sabine again cursed the stormtroopers for attacking when she didn't have her armor on. Ezra just blamed the universe for always putting them in situations like this.

"I hope Kanan and Hera get here soon…" Ezra said quietly. "I already told Kanan to bring some clothes." He reached into his pocket dimension. "I don't have anything in my Pocket except for this…" He pulled out an old cloak out and thrust it behind him awkwardly.

"Thanks…" She grabbed it and wrapped herself up. " _I_ hope the stormtroopers don't realize where we ducked down, I do NOT want to be 'arrested for treason' like this."

"I'd prefer not being arrested at all." Sabine reached behind her and smacked Ezra's head. "Ow! I'm pretty sure you just hit a second degree burn…" Ezra groaned.

"Sorry…" She flinched at the reminder that the explosion had burnt more than their clothes. She had dropped and rolled fast enough to put out the flames before they burnt her too much, but Ezra had been closer to the explosion. He had mainly gotten hit in the upper body though so his pants were barely singed, luckily for him or the situation would have been twice as awkward.

"Hey Sabine?"

"Yeah?" Her eyes narrowed at the strange tone to his voice.

"I… I uh… don't feel too good…" She turned around in time to see him swaying.

She cursed as he fell backwards and she saw the burnt skin all over his front. "Dangit Ezra, why didn't you say anything?!" She hadn't had time to make sure he wasn't badly injured because she'd been busy trying to avoid getting seen, both by the stormtroopers and by Ezra.

He squinted up at her face, eyes hazy. "Uh… It didn't really hurt… It doesn't hurt very much now either… that's a bad thing right?"

"That's very bad, it means you have third degree burns." She cursed again. "Tell Kanan to hurry up!"

"I am, he's yelling at me for not telling him I was hurt…" He muttered. "Wow, your hair looks pretty from this angle. I did not mean to say that."

She resisted the urge to facepalm. "You're delirious." She tried to stop blushing.

"…Sorry..?"

"Don't apologize for being delirious!" She groaned. "Whatever, just, try to stay awake…"

"Heh heh, Awake… Of course I'm Awake!" He snickered and snorted.

"Ugh, they better hurry up…" She facepalmed.

"You know you're real pretty…"

"Ezra, shut up. You're delirious right now."

"No no no, I've always wanted to say that…" He giggled. "But since baseline it's never been like… right, you know?"

Even though she knew better than to encourage a delirious person's choice in conversation, Sabine couldn't help but be curious. "What do you mean?" She asked cautiously. It was to help keep him from falling asleep, she decided.

"I mean in baseline that was it. I just thought that, well, you were pretty. And cool. No, awesome!" He waved an arm in the air. "But that was it, I didn't really know you… And then in the loops I started you know, knowing you… But it wasn't really you! It was not looping you! And that wasn't you because you weren't looping and if I was looping you had to be looping for me to know you!"

"Okay, I _think_ I understood that…" She trailed off thoughtfully.

"But now you're looping and I get to know you." He grinned slightly, obviously loopy (pun intended). "And I like you, you know? You're awesome… And not just like I thought you were in baseline… 'Cause I know YOU now so I actually like you…" She was blushing heavily by now. "And I know you didn't like me in baseline and you probably don't like me now either but I still like you…"

"…I," She paused, not sure what she was about to say. "I don't know if I like you or not." She admitted quietly. "In baseline I know I didn't like you because you were so… childish, to me. For Mandolorians you would be an adult but you're human so you acted like humans your age do. Even though I was only a few years older I was an adult by my people's culture. But now because of the loops, you act childish still but you can _be_ an adult when you need to. I've never thought about if I liked you or not since baseline because you haven't really acted like that towards me, so I don't know if I like you or not…"

He smiled and snickered. "Look at us, getting all touchy feely."

She rolled her eyes. "You're definitely delirious."

"Mmhmm…" He hummed. There was silence for a minute or two until Sabine remembered that she had to keep him awake.

"Ezra, come on." She shook his shoulder. "Stay up, don't fall asleep on me now."

"Don't wanna…" He whined, eyes sinking closed.

"Come _on_ Ezra, don't fall asleep." She shook his shoulder harder as his eyes began to roll up into the back of his head. "I don't want the loop to end early because you died." She teased him but her voice was still worried.

"Sa-Sabine, I'm 'bout to…" His eyes flew open and she recognized what was about to happen. She quickly lifted him up just in time as he threw up, making sure he didn't get any on himself. Pulling him into a sitting position against the dumpster she had to be careful not to touch any of his burns.

"I bet you're awake now." She tried to keep his attention.

"Ugh, my mouth tastes like… well, puke…" He muttered, eyes half closed.

"Well that'll help you stay awake then won't it?" She whipped her head around as a moment later footsteps sounded in the alley. Ezra seemed to hear them too, as he stiffened.

"Sabine? Ezra?" They relaxed when they heard Kanan's voice.

"Back here," Sabine pulled the cloak tighter around her.

"What she said…" Ezra muttered.

She couldn't exactly pull him to his feet while keeping the cloak covering her, but she stood up herself and kept him balanced with her left leg. "He's not doing good, be careful." She warned Zeb as he came around to pick him up.

"Here Sabine," Hera handed her a hoodie, which she appreciated since she was able to slide it on easily without even having to turn around or take the cloak off.

"Hey Kanan, did you know your hair looks cool?" Ezra giggled from Zeb's arms.

"He's been delirious," Sabine informed the amused Jedi.

"I can tell." Zeb deadpanned as Ezra actually cuddled into his chest.

"No I'm not!" They all stifled laughter as he whined.

"Come on then, let's get you back to the ship." Kanan snickered. "Are you okay Sabine?"

"A few burns but none as bad as his. I put them out before they burned much more than my clothes."

"Hey, I want my cloak back..!" Ezra muttered tiredly.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine sighed in relief as Hera helped her put some burn cream on the worst of the blisters. She'd waited until Ezra was deemed okay before allowing them to help her with her own burns, after all they were going to have to take him to a doctor as soon as they could find someone who'd help. Hera had done what she could but she wasn't a doctor.

At the moment Zeb was making sure Ezra stayed in his bed, since he was still slightly dazed and in pain.

"Are you okay Sabine?" Hera snapped her fingers in her face to get her attention. "You were just staring for a moment there."

"I'm fine, sorry, just… distracted. Worried about Ezra. Who knows how long it'll take us to find someone willing to help." She shrugged, pretending she wasn't thinking about him differently.

"I'm sure we'll find a doctor willing to help." Hera smiled slightly. "Now why don't you go get some rest, or do you need some pain pills?"

"I'm fine, they're not that bad. Just really itchy after the cream." She shrugged on a loose shirt.

"Well just let me know if you need anything."

"Will do, Hera." Sabine left the room and headed to her own with thoughts whirling through her head.

While she _was_ worried about Ezra, she wasn't overly concerned. He hadn't died yet and even if he did it didn't quite matter since she'd likely see him mere hours after the loop had restarted. She was mostly thinking on what they'd both confessed, though she couldn't be too sure he'd remember anything with how out of it he had been.

 _Did_ she like him? In baseline she hadn't, but now though? He was crazy but then again she was a little crazy too. The loops made _everyone_ crazy.

When she thought about the way she knew Ezra now she remembered her first loop, making smoke bombs out of chemicals, eggs, and powdered paint. She'd had a lot of fun with him and thinking back she realized that it was the only time she'd ever seen him fully focused on something.

Working on the project had took all of their attention, but even still Sabine could remember the way he talked animatedly describing the process. The way he showed her how to pour the powder with sure, steady hands and the way he lit up at her suggestions. Especially the way he grinned in joy when the project had proved successful, the smokebombs working just the way they'd wanted it to. And the look on his face the few times they'd blown up in their faces!

Sabine stopped her train of thought with a blush.

She had her answer.

"I _do_ like him…" She muttered to herself, now safely hidden away in her room where no one could see the brilliant scarlet color she was blushing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4.1: Hera, sadly, will not be looping for a while. But she still gets dragged into shenanigans anyways.
> 
> 4.2: Chopper is now OFFICIALLY looping. Pray for them. Pray for them all.
> 
> 4.3: Sorrynotsorry. It started with the whole awkward/hilarious teenagers being pretty much half naked thing and then it just evolved into all that. I have to admit. This was partially inspired by Spike and Rarity in Saphroneth's MLP Loops story. Same general principal- Sabine is mature in baseline and Ezra is not. Therefore, in baseline it is extremely unlikely they'd get together. However, the loops provide chance for a large measure of maturity (and insanity) that makes the Ezra/Sabine ship far more plausible. Eh, it might have also made Sabine more IMmature and therefore evened them out... Also, the loopers are pretty much indestructable when they want to be. If they're taken off guard though they can't protect themselves and if their mind gets dizzy they can't HEAL themselves... (Not to mention being perfectly unharmed after being that close to an explosion would be real suspicious to the nonloopers.) Chopper has blackmail of Ezra being delirious.


	5. TCAoaTTP 5

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**5.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Sabine took a deep breath before knocking on the door of Ezra's tower. He did things like this every once in a while, spending a loop hidden away in his tower and only joining them on special occasions.

She waved shyly to one of the (many, excessively so) cameras. In a few minutes he opened the door, opening it wide to let her in.

"Hey Sabine," He said smoothy. "What are you doing here?"

"Remember that loop where we both got burnt really bad by an explosion and you were real delirious?" She blurted out in a rush. He blinked, taking a moment to absorb that and then ducking his head shyly.

"Uh, yeah, I uh… Yeah, about that, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything, I was so loopy - no pun intended - I don't really remember much about it…" He scratched the back of his head.

"Okay," Sabine breathed out. "Well, basically you told me you liked me. That you had liked me since baseline, but over the loops you'd realized you liked me for being me. And basically that you'd been waiting until I started looping before trying to _really_ get to know me, then liked me more. And… I told you I didn't know how I felt about you anymore. Well, I… I thought about it… and I think I like you too." She took a deep breath to try and calm down the blush on her face.

Ezra stood there with his mouth wide open in shock. He stayed there for a minute before a blush started to work its way onto his cheeks. "I… I didn't imagine that right?"

"Should I feel flattered that you would imagine me saying that?" She couldn't resist joking. He laughed breathily.

"Um, come inside, I think we'd better… sit down or something…" She blinked as she realized she was still standing in the door. Her blush deepened and she hurried past him and sat on his couch.

She fidgeted with her hands as he sat down. "So…"

"I didn't think that would work." He blurted out. "I mean, um. Hold on one second my words don't want to go together the right way." He fidgeted too. "When I was delirious I was trying to find a way to say everything, and I thought that when you never said anything that you thought I was just babbling or something, or maybe the words didn't come out the way I'd wanted them to."

"Don't worry, they did." She chewed the inside of her mouth briefly. "So… we both like each other and we both know about it, so does this mean we're dating?"

"I think one of us needs to ask the other on a date first." Ezra couldn't resist a laugh and a grin.

"Well then, would you like to go on a date?" She smiled when the grin dropped into a gape. She didn't know why but she felt really bold at the moment.

"Uh… doesn't the guy ask that..?" He said dazedly.

"I don't know, if we go by that logic does that mean I'm the guy in this relationship?" She smirked cheekily, loving the way he sputtered. _'Okay, I don't care that I'm acting really snarky and different right now or that I just said we're in a relationship, it's TOTALLY worth it to see the look on his face. He's so cute! Did I just think that?'_

She full on laughed as the blush on his face was now covering his neck and ears. "Uh…"

"Relax Ezra, I'm only joking." She grinned at him. "But seriously."

"Yes!" He squeaked, covering his face with his hands when his voice cracked.

She couldn't resist the mischievous smirk on her face as she stood up and walked over to him. He pulled his hands away from his face just in time for her to swoop in and give him a peck on the cheek. He squeaked again with wide eyes as she straightened up again.

"You decide what you want us to do, just pick me up tomorrow at seven." She grinned one last time as she left, trying her very hardest to not run out of the tower in embarrassment.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Uh, Sabine? Are you okay?" Hera asked her a few hours later.

"No! I can't believe I did that! I'm so embarrassed!" She covered her face to hide the blush.

"Oh dear, what happened?" Hera chuckled and pulled up a chair at the kitchen table where Sabine was slouched.

"I may have told Ezra I liked him. And I do! It's just that, I kinda felt… _different_ and I acted weird." She peeked out from behind her hands. "I asked him out and kissed his cheek."

" _You_ asked _him_ out?" Hera raised an eyebrow, trying to stop her amusement from showing.

"Yeah, and he was so embarrassed and it was so cute because did you know he blushes all the way to his neck and ears?" She flushed and covered her face again. "I'm not helping my case here…"

Hera couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like you've got it bad." She smiled when Sabine glared at her from between her fingers. "Look, it's perfectly normal that you acted weird around him if you like him so much. Though to be honest I didn't realize there was so much chemistry going on between you two," Hera admitted with a shrug. "We all act weird around those we love-"

"Please don't use that word!" Sabine groaned.

"What, love?" Hera laughed.

"Exactly, I don't know if this is love, and even if it is I'm not sure I want it to be…"

"You like him don't you?" Hera asked.

"Yes!"

"Then why does it matter?" Hera smiled at her again. "Just start from there. And you know what? You two have an advantage that most couples don't. You two began as friends, and that's the best way to start. Just keep things going from there and everything will fall go into place."

"Ugh, you sound worse than Kanan with all of his mysterious 'never actually give you an answer' Jedi sayings…" Sabine grumbled.

"Yeah yeah, so you asked him out. Give a girl some details!" Hera grinned encouragingly when Sabine smirked slightly.

"I told him he could choose, just to pick me up at seven tomorrow…"

* * *

**5.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

_|"Ezra, stop bothering me through the bond."|_

_|"But I'm booored"|'_

_|"You have your projects to work on, don't you?"|_

|" _Come on Kanan, technology is so far behind me by now I could build tech lightyears ahead of everything now in my **sleep**."|_

_|"Then why don't you try advancing modern technology up to your level?"|_

_|"Duh, Empire."|_

_*sigh* |"Just stop bothering me…"|_

_|"…"|_

_|"What is it you need advice on?"|_

_|"Sabine might have asked me out…"|_

_|"Wait, **she** asked **you** out?"|_

_|"I know right! She was acting kind of weird… She came over to talk about some things I said a few loops ago when I was delirious…"|_

_|"What did you say?"|_

_|"Hey! Don't use an accusatory tone on me! She came over to say she liked me back! And then it somehow evolved into her asking me out and kissing me on the cheek…"|_

_|"… Wow, she was acting pretty weird if that image was anything to go by. Was she really smirking like that?"|_

_|"I know right! She was acting so WEIRD!"|_

_|"So why do you need advice again?"|_

_|"She said for me to decide what we'd do, just gave me a time…"|_

_|"Dangit Ezra, that's today! What do you expect me to do?"|_

_|"Give me some advice! What else?!"|_

_*sigh* |"Look, just think about what it is you both like. You two started out as friends, which makes this whole thing easier. What would you do if you were taking her out as just a friend?"|_

_|"…Well, the times we make smokebombs are probably the closest I ever get to her. Both literally and metaphorically."|_

_|"So science and inventing things. What could you guys do along those lines?"|_

_|"Weeeell… My company has a lot of connections… but I don't think she wants to go on a date to a lab. Wait… I have the perfect idea!"|_

_|"Nice one, she'll love that. Though how you got that from 'science and inventing things' is beyond me."|_

_|"Thanks for your help Kanan."|_

_|"It was all you, my padawan."|_

_|"Stop being such a-"|_

_|"Ezra..."|_

_|"Yeah yeah, okay. I have some stuff to get ready. Thanks again."|_

_|"No problem kiddo."|_

* * *

**5.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra grumbled to himself as he hopped across a chasm. It was weird enough when he replaced Kanan, but _no~_ the loops had to screw with him and make him replace Zeb.

He was going to have a word with the Moderator of his loop if he ever met them.

* * *

**5.4** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra lifted his head curiously when he realized something. Everyone felt differently with the Force, that was something he'd learned in baseline. But Kanan and Sabine felt even _more_ different. Their life forces felt older, more experienced then they should have.

With an eager grin he nudged Kanan through the bond and sent the information over, sitting patiently in his tower as his master absorbed the information.

_|"…Zeb's Awake."|_

"YES!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"So now Hera is the only one of the crew who aren't looping." Kanan summarized, all the loopers gathered in Ezra's tower. Since Hera currently didn't know Ezra she was on the Ghost under the impression that they were shopping for supplies.

"Time is broken." Zeb blinked, still processing that fact.

"Yep, keep up Zeb. I hope Hera starts looping soon, then we won't have to keep things hidden as much…"

"Time is freaking broken!" Zeb exclaimed with a strange face.

Sabine reached over to pat him on the back. "Don't worry, I hear Kanan reacted really bad."

"Hey I Awoke alone with no idea what had happened!" Kanan defended himself.

"And I freaked out worse than he did my first few loops." Ezra nodded.

"Why is time broken?!" Zeb was still stuck on this one fact.

"Nobody really knows." Sabine shrugged.

"Why do you guys not care?!"

"Oh we care, it's just old news to us by this time." Ezra shrugged.

Zeb resisted the powerful urge to slam his head into a wall.

"You get used to it." Sabine and Kanan said in unison.

* * *

**5.5** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Oh my gosh this is so freakin' awesome!" Ezra whooped as he rushed down a hill on a sled.

"Make it stop! Make it all stop!" Kanan shrieked in terror as his sled bounced off every single obstacle in the entire course.

"Out of my way!" Zeb rushed by them all using a power up, of course bumping into Kanan's sled on the way down.

"Snowball spamming, suckers!" Sabine swept by them as well, throwing snowballs at them as she passed. Ezra dodged his perfectly but Kanan got hit directly in the face.

"I hate my life!" He wailed as he crashed into a tree stump.

"Sorry!" Sabine called over her shoulder.

"Sorry Kanan, I don't think I can stop this thing!" Ezra yelled as he passed by, covering him in snow.

"It hurts…"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Good news! The lodge has hot chocolate!" Sabine said cheerfully with a sip as Kanan shivered.

"Bad news, you have to have at least been in the top five to get some." Ezra said with a snicker from his own cup.

Zeb rolled his eyes and handed Kanan his cup.

"Th-thanks… I f-feel like I'm f-frozen s-solid…"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_The next loop…_

Kanan took one look at the frozen planet they were about to land on.

"NOPE."

He spent the rest of the week huddled in his room with the door locked.

* * *

**5.6** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Ezra? Are you okay?" Hera knocked on his door carefully.

"NO."

"Do you need someone to talk to?"

"NOPE." There was a pause. "Sorry Hera, it's just… Freddy's. Oh my god, I'm never looking at pizza the same again…"

Hera stepped away from the door nervously. "Kanan? I'm worried about Ezra…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5.1: Again my Ezra/Sabine shipping takes up a lot of the chapter... No worries people once my original burst of inspiration for them as a couple ended after a while so the rest of the story isn't going to pay that much attention to it outside of random mentions here and there.
> 
> 5.2: At first the bond wasn't that strong and they at the very least had to be in the same city to use it this clearly. But now they can pretty much communicate anywhere. Even planets away.
> 
> 5.3: Supposedly Lasan is more of a desert planet then anything, with lasat being adapted to those situations. Jumping a lot seems to be right.
> 
> 5.4: Came into my thoughts that people's souls are older if they're looping, so those using the Force should technically be able to tell if someone's looping or not. Coincidence's sake meant that Zeb had to start looping at the same time this realization was made. Lucky for him or he'd very likely snapped before the loop was over. They tend to get pretty wacky if they've been getting bored enough. (Bored enough for Ezra to meditate without it being his normal schedule or at Kanan's insistence means they're getting bored enough.)
> 
> 5.5: Not quite sure what spawned this but this is what's called a 'game loop'. Poor Kanan. He's apparently the brunt of most of my jokes. Also, this ends up turning into something in later chapters...
> 
> 5.6: Five Nights at Freddy's is a very much hated and despised loop.


	6. TCAoaTTP 6

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**6.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Sabine rolled her eyes, using her left hand to cover them as Ezra pulled on her right one.

"So where are we going?" She asked amusedly.

"It's a surprise!" Ezra grinned at her, though she couldn't see it.

Before he picked her up he'd had Chopper give her a message over what to wear, which was basically her normal outfit. She'd had no idea that Ezra was able to send messages through Chopper…

"Come on Ezra…" She joked and resisted the urge to peek between her fingers.

"Okay, open your eyes we're here." She moved her hand to see his grin, then turned to the sign next to an old looking shack. Her jaw dropped.

"Please tell me this is a professional match?"

"Come on, would I be so cruel as to pit you against newbs?" His smirk widened as a competitive glint shone in her eyes.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Blue team is down, Blue team is down!" Sabine reported through her mike to Ezra.

"Red team is down to last survivor!" Ezra added on.

"Yellow team is in view!" Sabine lifted her rifle up to her shoulder. "Cover my shot!"

"Gotcha!" Ezra popped his own rifle into view and shot. "Never mind, Red team is now down!"

"Yellow team is down two players!" Sabine shouted as she jumped up, fired off multiple shots, and then ducked back down behind cover.

Ezra ducked back down too, barely dodging a projectile that flew over him and splattered against a tree. "So, enjoying our date?" He asked breathlessly.

"Best. Date. Ever!" She grinned wildly.

"Good, because this'll make it even better. Paint bombs are allowed and these count, I checked." He held up a familiar egg, the white shell stained the color inside and on their equipment.

"Oh my God." Sabine breathed with a manic evil glint in her eye. "Ezra, you. Are. Awesome."

"I know," He said cockily with a smirk. "Now. Who's left?"

She took the egg from his fingers, slinging her rifle to her back and jumping up. Ezra rushed to cover her as she pulled her arm back.

"PINK TEAM RULES SUCKERS!" Sabine screamed as she lobbed the egg over at the largest remaining group, Green team.

They both dropped like stones as the air where they'd been standing was hit with paintballs of all colors. They laughed madly as angry yells and shouts of Green team being down could be heard from across the field.

"Holy crow, that one was not the one I meant to use…" Ezra flinched sympathetically as Green team was now a bright hot pink instead of the more pastel color they were wearing. "That or it was in my Pocket longer than I'd realized."

"That was _so awesome!_ " Sabine cackled crazily as she leaned up against their cover.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You are teaching us how to make those." The leader of the Green/Hot Pink team said as soon as they all left the shed, Sabine and Ezra carrying their small trophy proudly.

"Sure, meet us back here in about two hours. Bring heavy gloves, thick work aprons, and goggles." Sabine waved as they all nodded eagerly and left to go search for said objects.

"Well that was fun." Ezra grinned. "We never even got _splattered_."

"I know right?" Sabine smirked. "It was an awesome date Ezra." She smiled at him as he blushed slightly.

"Would you be willing to go on another?" He asked with a shy grin.

"I'd love to."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Do I even want to know what's going on here?" Kanan asked warily, watching the room full of people and explosive chemicals with a worried eye.

"From the paintball tournament." Ezra nodded, wiping condensed fumes off of his goggles. "They were curious about our egg-smokebombs and we offered to show them how to make them."

"Brainstorming with so many people is amazing!" Sabine called from the next table over as she poured an actual _liquid_ into an egg instead of the powders that Kanan knew were _supposed_ to make the smokebombs.

"I'm just going to… leave…" He edged out of the building, hurrying in fear when smoke poured from the corner.

" _Again_ Caile? You need to be careful with this stuff, some of it's _really_ flammable." Sabine shook her head at the sheepish man in the by now soot covered corner.

"Luckily he hasn't gotten to any of those ones yet…" Ezra muttered to himself.

"He won't at all if I have anything to do with it." Sabine hmphed and he grinned at her.

* * *

**6.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Zeb was chatting excitedly to a small alien, Ezra watching in amusement.

Like Ezra with his affinity for technology Zeb had decided to learn a skill other than fighting using the time the loops allowed. He'd proved to be incredibly good at learning languages. Encouraged by their successes Kanan, Sabine, and Chopper were now trying to find their own hobbies but hadn't had much luck. They'd picked up some interesting skills in the meantime though.

"He says we need to go that way." Zeb pointed down the street of the crowded marketplace.

"Sounded like there was a lot more in between in." A NonAwake Sabine commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course there was, he was telling me a few things." Zeb refused to elaborate further.

"Let's just get going, we're late as it is." Kanan sighed.

"I _could_ have just used some of my own credits to get us a ride there…" Ezra grumbled. It was a bit tricky sometimes, but he always managed to keep Blue Time Corporations running in secret. It involved a heck of a lot of middle men and some crazy multitasking skills but Ezra had lifetimes of experience at doing it by now.

"No, I don't even want to know how you _got_ those credits in the first place." Hera admonished as he rolled his eyes. Of course he had to keep his business hidden from the crew sometimes, especially the nonlooping Hera. The motherly twilek wasn't particularly good at dealing with knowledge of the loops and the times she knew about BT Corps she always learned about everything else involved for some reason.

They were hurrying down the streets when Zeb suddenly veered away from them, Ezra and Kanan noticing because of their Force sensitivity. The Anchor gave Kanan a small pulse of reassurance as he followed the lasat to let him know he'd be alright.

"So, where are we going?"

"That guy was telling me about the marketplace just a few blocks away when I mentioned that I liked learning languages," Zeb admitted. "I wanted to go and see if I could keep up with all the ones used there. It's supposedly a really diverse place."

"Cool," Ezra nodded. "I need to see if I can pick up a few things anyways, I've been running out of chemicals for my eggbombs…"

"Don't you usually make those with Sabine?" Zeb raised an eyebrow at him.

"Me and her have an agreement. Since that's the first time we ever really bonded, neither of us make them with anyone else unless the other is there. It's kind of our relaxing time. And we also have a pact to not get together with our NonAwake selves, though that really just counts for me since she'll rarely ever have to deal with a NonAwake me." Ezra folded his hands behind his head as he walked.

"You know guys have been getting pretty serious lately." Zeb commented. "How many loops have you been dating?"

"I'm not sure, maybe around sixty by now?" Ezra scratched the back of his head.

Zeb whistled. "Isn't that almost impossible in the loops?"

"No, I actually met a couple who married in the loops without having married in baseline." Ezra grinned at the lasat's surprised face. "You haven't had a fused loop with Equestria yet, but their names are Spike and Rarity. They fit really well together. According to Spike they were dating for around six hundred loops before he proposed to her, and it took a _long_ time until they could actually have the wedding. You know, when it comes to Sabine I'm not entirely sure we _are_ serious," Ezra admitted.

"You're kidding right?" Zeb deadpanned.

"What?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_Kanan turned around from the door to Sabine's room when he heard certain sounds coming from there. He hurriedly blocked off the bond, now noticing that Ezra was completely… distracted. Yeah, he'd go with that…_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_"Oh come on!" Zeb's nose scrunched up in disgust at the same time he wanted to blush. "Could they NOT do that in the same room **I** sleep in?!" Maybe it was time to make Ezra share Sabine's room instead of continuing to share a room with him…_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_Hera yelped in surprise when she walked into a heavy makeout session. "What in the-?!"_

_"Dangit!" Ezra facepalmed. He'd barely joined the crew of the Ghost at this point in the timeline, so now Hera would demand explanations until she some way or another learned about the loops._

_"Listen Hera, it goes like this…" Sabine sighed wearily having already come to the same conclusion. "Time is broken and keeps repeating over and over again, not everyone always remembers, so far you haven't remembered at all, me and Ezra have been dating for several lifetimes now, and I'd really like to finish what I started." Ezra blushed at the last comment._

_Hera stared wide eyed at the two before nodding dazedly. "I… I can ask Kanan to explain this right?"_

_"Yeah he's been Awake the second longest," Ezra stopped short as Hera literally ran away. He shrugged. "Oh well." He squeaked as Sabine continued where they'd left off._

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_Zeb, Kanan, and Chopper watched as Ezra and Sabine walked down the street, dressed fancily in expensive clothes. There was also extremely expensive food all over said clothes. They were laughing so hard they nearly couldn't walk, and it was only Kanan's assurances from what he could feel through the bond that the lasat and astromech believed they hadn't drunk anything that night._

_"Did you see their faces?!" Sabine giggled against Ezra's shoulder._

_"I don't think **anyone** missed seeing that," Ezra laughed._

_"That was greatness! That poor waiter though, he'll probably get fired for spilling food all over a customer." Sabine tried to tone down her laughter._

_"I'll just have BT Corps hire him for something, he sure helped liven up what was looking to be our most boring date yet." Ezra chuckled. "Sorry about that by the way, I wanted to try a different approach from our usual thing."_

_"It's fine, I'm happy you're so invested in us." Sabine pulled him over for searing kiss. By the time she pulled away Ezra was looking dazed and the three watching them were tempted to gag._

_None of them noticed that the chuckle Ezra gave was slightly malevolent. He waved a hand discreetly behind his back and there were three yelps as a nearby puddle from the recent rains exploded all over the culprits._

_"How about I take you to a movie?" Ezra asked as they walked away from the splash zone. "Seems like it's sprinkling again."_

_Sabine snickered. "Riiight… Like this?"_

_"How about I take you to a **drive-in** movie?"_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Okay, so we _are_ kind of serious." Ezra admitted as he thought about it. "But I still want to take things carefully."

"Could you guys at least switch to sharing rooms?" Zeb grumbled. "You spend most of the time in her's anyway."

"When Hera finally starts looping." Ezra allowed with a chuckle.

* * *

**6.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Ezra, what the heck." Sabine blinked and shook her head at her new sixth sense. "This loop is… weird."

"You're telling me!" Kanan groaned. "I'm the one who has to teach you guys!"

"Good news is that after so many loops 'teaching' me you know what will work and what won't." Ezra shrugged. "Plus I'm technically a full Jedi, I can help you out."

"I'm going to need the help…" Kanan muttered.

"Is it even possible to have the Jedi-Padawan bond between six people?" Zeb asked curiously as he absently levitated a piece of scrap metal.

["I guess we'll find out!"] Chopper whirled amusedly. ["I'm just curious how an astromech can use the force."]

"The Force is connected to everything, animate or inanimate." Kanan lectured. "Plus you have a soul from the times you've been organic, which somehow carries through the loops."

"What is going on?!" Hera was in shock.

"Oh hey, she's Awake finally!" Ezra grinned when he felt her lifeforce older than it should be (if only barely), the characteristic of a looper.

"Finally!" Zeb rolled his eyes.

"Don't panic Hera, we can explain everything." Sabine said in a soothing voice and then hugged her. "I'm _so_ happy you're looping now!"

"I don't… what?" She blinked confusedly.

"You know what this means now, right?" Zeb glared at the two (physically) teenagers.

"Yes Zeb, I'll move out of our room." Ezra rolled his eyes. Sabine fistpumped and snickered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 6.1: Ezra had a good idea. Pretty sure Sabine's favorite color is pink, so hence Pink team. Forgot to mention this: the idea for the egg-smokebombs comes from the 2012 TMNT series.
> 
> 6.2: Zeb and Sabine now have a running competition over who knows the more languages. Heh heh... You have to remember not only are they 'perpetually teenagers' but they're old as Pit mentally... Okay truthfully I really just have no excuse for this segment.
> 
> 6.3: HERA IS AWAKE! POOR HERA WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH HER CRAZY TEAM FOR ETERNITY! I believe that Hera would be the most mature even after millennia of looping.


	7. TCAoaTTP 7

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**7.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Ezra?"

"Don't ask. Please, please, _please_ don't ask."

"…"

"…"

"…Okay now I _have_ to ask."

"Please don't," He practically begged in time to a samba.

"Why can't we speak without singing in this loop?" Zeb asked confusedly in a mysterious trill.

"I hate this… I hate this so much…" Ezra groaned to the tune of 'dun dun duuun'.

Zeb snickered to the sound of 'ba dum tish'.

* * *

**7.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra Awoke without any loop memories. Usually when Awakening he would remember all his memories before Awakening, but this time there were none.

It was seriously driving him nuts.

Going for the side of caution, he donned his favourite Jedi cloak and set out for the familiar city he could see on the horizon. Lothal was a planet that was very recognizable, especially if you lived there repeatedly throughout time.

Coming into the city he nearly had a heart attack coming face to face with his own… well, face.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The other him said hurriedly, looking behind him.

Ezra relaxed slightly as he realized that his hood covered his looks. Quickly casting multiple appearing modifying charms (starting with his age) he steadied his off balance younger (relatively) self with his arm. Looking back to him his younger self blinked when he looked taller.

"Are you okay?" He asked carefully with a different voice.

"Fine, um, oh karrabast!" He watched as the other him looked back at the stormtroopers running around the corner.

Without a second though Ezra pulled his younger self behind him and hid him behind a nearby crate before anyone could see.

The stormtroopers came through asking, but nobody could (more like would) tell them anything. By the time they'd left Ezra had gotten everything together in his mind.

He pulled off his hood to look into the eyes of his other self. "Hi there," He smiled kindly.

He had lightened his skin tone considerably and his face was now more thick set, without his easily recognizable nose. He'd never liked the thing anyways. He sadly had to change his electric blue eyes into a boring hazel, with his hair being put in a much shorter cut and a stringy blackish brown. He was obviously much taller and he had based his body build off of Loki from the Avenger's loop. That guy was awesome.

"Hi." His younger self grinned shyly. "Thanks for helping me out." Judging by the other's voice, it was a while after he'd joined with the crew of the Ghost.

"No problem kid. My name's Michael Pill, you can go ahead and call me Mike. What'd you do to get the attention of the Empire like that?" Michael Pill was a name he'd been given in a crossover where his name wasn't normal and he'd gotten quite fond of it. Fond enough to use it as an alias when one was needed.

"You wouldn't really believe me if I told you. My name's Ezra," He added on, as if an afterthought.

"Try me kid." He chuckled. "Well, actually, don't tell me yet. We need to get away from the rest of the bucketheads." He pointed over his shoulder where the stormtroopers were searching nearby.

"I'm guessing you're not such a fan of the Empire?" Ezra cautioned.

"Is anyone really?" Mike deadpanned. "Now hold on a second, I think I have something…" He reached as if searching in his cloak, but was really reaching into his subspace pocket. "Ah here we go." He pulled out a different cloak that luckily wasn't in the Jedi style.

"Thanks," Ezra slipped it on easily and yanked the hood over his head. Mike pulled on his own hood and they stepped out into the streets, sneaking away from the search zone.

A few minutes after they got away an explosion ripped through the air.

"Ah, it all makes sense now." Mike looked back at his younger self with a smirk.

"I uh… It wasn't me?"

"Uh huh." He droned dryly. "Now, where were you headed in such a hurry? And yes I noticed you were running in the opposite direction of the big boom."

"Meeting up with some friends of mine." Ezra shrugged, not admitting but not denying it either.

"Mmhmm." Mike hummed. "Lead on my little friend." He waved a hand in front of them jokingly.

"Wait, why?" Ezra looked at him suspiciously.

"I have nothing better to do than stick it to the Empire, you're obviously a rebel of some sort, you seem to be doing a decent enough job, I don't even live here, I'm passing through, oh and do you think I can't recognize a padawan when I see one?" He shifted his cloak so that Ezra saw the lightsaber hilt on his waist without anyone else happening to see it.

Mike watched amusedly as Ezra gaped at him.

"You're a-"

"Yes, though I don't think you should be saying it. Wait… that's hypocritical, never mind. Go ahead." Ezra couldn't hold in a snort.

"You're definitely different."

"Kid, you have _no_ idea." Mike couldn't hold back a snicker. "Go on back to your master and talk to him, I did mean it when I said I wanted to stick it to the Empire. And I really don't have anything better to be doing."

"Alright, I guess…" Ezra shook his head and started off through the streets, quickly disappearing among the throng of people.

"This loop's gonna be interesting…" 'Mike' mused as he let his eyes flash their original color.

Oh yeah, he looked badass.

* * *

**7.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Zeb blinked as he Awoke. Then cursed heavily.

"I _hate_ looping in as a human!" He slipped into several other languages. Once he managed to curb his frustration he took a look at his loop memories.

'Garazeel Redfox' was his name this loop, and looking at his 'magic' he was slightly relieved to know that he was more or less an animalistic human. He used 'Iron Dragonslayer Magic' and was in a magic guild.

Seeing what he had just been asked to do a few minutes prior to Awakening, Zeb cursed again and started planning.

"Hihihihihihihi!" Zeb yelped rather loudly as he was tackled energetically. "I'm Lucy I'm an Anchor and you might not know what that is but if you do that means you're a guest looper and hiiiiii!"

"You're a looper?!" He sputtered as the busty blonde who had just glomped him jumped back with a manic grin.

"Yup! Lucy Heartfilia, Anchor of the Fiore loop! Nice to meet you! You're replacing a friend of mine, his name's Gajeel!" She nodded.

"Lucy is an example of what happens to Anchors who are looping too long before others start looping." A man with orange hair rolled his eyes fondly at her. "I'm Loke, Gajeel usually joins our team. When he Awakes he usually pulls something similar to what you've done." He pointed behind them at the ruins of the guild, which Zeb wouldn't even bother with using their name.

"Blowing up the headquarters of power hungry jerks is something I do all the time in my loop." Zeb smirked slightly. "Name's Zeb, though the loop put me as Garazeel. Weirdest friggin' name, I swear the loops never give me a normal one…"

"Zeb? That's short for something, right?" Loke motioned for them to start walking down the road, Lucy leading with a skip.

"Garazeb Ourellios." He nodded. "I'm not human in my home loop, hate having to loop in as one."

Loke laughed slightly. "Most don't. I'm not human myself, Celestial Spirits have more of an ethereal presence than humans so the many times I've been turned into one have gone kind of strangely."

"I bet. What happens in this loop?" He asked, wanting to know what he was getting into.

"Well, a lot of things to be honest. All of them centered around fighting and our guild, Fairy Tail. It's nothing like Phantom Lord," He assured at Zeb's face. "Fairy Tail isn't really a guild, it's a family."

"Sounds like my crew," Zeb chuckled.

"Well then you'll fit right in!" Lucy chirped from in front of them.

"Great." He droned sarcastically.

* * *

**7.4** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"I don't know," Hera looked at her ship in trepidation. "I like my ship the way it is."

"And I know that, I just really _really_ want to try this out." Ezra lifted up a glass vial holding an Allspark shard. "If things don't go well you can just go on vacation and pretend that it never happened next loop." Oddly enough it was only the two of them Awake this loop.

"Okay… and if they do?"

"I can download his or her memories and repeat the process the next loop or whenever you want. I'll eventually be able to make an Intelligent Device out of their spark and then they'll be connected to your soul, causing him or her to loop in with you."

"You've really planned this out haven't you?" She asked amusedly at his eager expression.

"I already used it on a NonAwake Chopper." Her eyes widened. "Let's just say that awesomeness ensued."

"Go for it, I guess…" She trailed off as he cheered excitedly. She watched as he practically yanked the vial open and chunked the piece of super powered metal at her precious ship.

She started to regret it when the shard sucked itself in the direction of the ship as if magnetized, making a strange laser-like sound when it impacted. She held a hand to her mouth in worry as her ship began to rattle and shake crazily.

"Don't worry, it's supposed to do this!" Ezra yelled over the sound of metal clattering.

With a commendable imitation of an explosion of metal her ship expanded, parts shifting and moving in all directions. She squeaked in surprise when a ginormous (even for a Cybertronian) bot knelt down in front of them.

"Do you squishies understand the concept of a time loop?" He asked, deep voice vibrating their bones.

"Oh _come on!_ " Ezra threw the vial down with a whine. The twilek and Cybertronian watched as he stalked off grumbling to himself about something.

"Was it something I said?" The bot asked.

Hera just shook her head. "He's the Anchor. This loop he wanted to experiment with my ship with some fragment thing…" She motioned to the bot.

"Ah, that makes sense." The bot chuckled. "Name's Starscream, started out bad in my loop but not anymore because of the loops. I'm usually a fighter jet too…" He looked over his frame curiously.

"A fighter jet? Would that by chance be similar to a Tie Fighter?"

"Tie Fighter? Aw fraggit, not this loop…"

"What?" She asked, slightly offended.

"Sorry, the other times I Awoke here I was a Sith." Starscream explained. "The first time it was fun because I hadn't exactly become a good guy yet, but after that it was just annoying."

"I don't blame you, the few times Ezra and Kanan have looped as Sith they were pretty scarred." She nodded sympathetically.

* * *

**7.5** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Erza's smirk of satisfaction got a lot of exercise as she watched her friends Awake over the course of a certain loop.

'Zeeba's' curses had been the most inventive obviously, but 'Hara's' had been the funniest. 'Sable' had been entirely too amused at the situation and 'Kallan' (called 'Kally') had just rolled her eyes. Once they were all Awake they gathered together to discuss the loop.

"You know, you don't ever really notice how rarer women are until all the men turn into them and vice versa." Hara commented amusedly.

"I noticed that my first genderbent loop." Erza snickered at Zeeba's expression, which was coming off as constipated.

"How do you _stand_ this?!" She hissed angrily, ears flattening to her head.

"Once you're an alicorn in a loop full of colorful ponies, nothing catches you off guard." Kallan droned in a deadpan.

"Try some of the backstories I've Awoken with!" Sable snorted. "Sob stories all of them, but still pretty mentally scarring."

"I think we all deal with that particular trouble," Kallan said.

"Not as bad as her, I mean, him." Erza spoke up. "I've seen a few of those backstories the loops have given him. They're not pretty."

"Can we get onto the topic of the _really screwed up loop_ we're in right now?" The lasat growled angrily as they ignored her.

"I've had some really bad ones too," Hara contributed. "Being a twilek, if you get what I mean."

"Yowch, that's rough." Sable flinched sympathetically.

"Why are you all ignoring me?" Zeeba grumbled to herself.

"I think it's the gender switch, change in hormones and all." Erza told her quietly. "Coincidentally, are ALL female lasat grumpy or is that just you this loop?"

"I hate you all…" She growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 7.1: The loops are funny sometimes. I think Ezra hates these types of loops...
> 
> 7.2: Looping Ezra meets NonAwake Ezra... 
> 
> 7.3: Tiny sort-of tie-in with my old looping story Looping Fairies, about the manga/anime Fairy Tail... Lol I feel bad about what I did to poor Lucy in there. It's a little old and was from early on when I was first trying to write humor but I had some pretty good comments. It's currently completed as I feel like I didn't want to add anything more to it. Also - GARAZEEL. IRON DRAGONSLAYER ZEB. YEEEEEESSSSHHHHH.
> 
> 7.4: Ezra is thorough in his planning. Ezra also likes the Cybertronian loop. But he wasn't expecting Starscream to all of a sudden loop in. I imagine Hera and Starscream spent the rest of the loop arguing over who would actually 'pilot'.
> 
> 7.5: Here's that genderbend Paint. ;3 Had fun with the names. Also, Kanan went to Equestria REALLY REALLY early in his looper lifetime... It kind of left a mark.


	8. TCAoaTTP 8

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**8.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

'Mike' watched amusedly as Ezra led Kanan to the spot where he'd last seen him. Waving slightly from an alley, Mike walked towards them with a smirk.

"Hi," He grinned. He could feel Kanan reach out towards him to check his Force sensitivity and welcomed the 'poke' with relatively open arms. He had to hide his _exact_ Force signature, since he'd checked and knew that he had the same one as his younger self, not to mention his master-padawan bond that was still there.

"Hello." Kanan nodded, acknowledging the fact that he held the Force. "My name's Kanan Jarrus, Ezra said you were interested in joining our team..?"

"Michael Pill, and yeah. That's the idea." He nodded.

"Well you can understand that we'd be a little distrustful, especially in these times." Kanan said cautiously.

"No worries, I completely understand. I'm guessing you want me to prove I'm willing to help?"

"Exactly."

"Perfect. What's the plan?" He put away a small tablet he'd been using to get the creation of Blue Time Corps underway.

"I did not think that you guys did this type of thing!" He called to Kanan from where he was holding on for his life to the side of an Imperial transport ship.

"Just get climbing!" The Jedi advised.

"Just get climbing, he says…" Mike muttered to himself. "This is not going to go well, the ship is small enough that the sounds we're making will be heard from inside, which means any advantage we have of surprising them is down the drain… Unless…" He grinned. He climbed up the side of the ship at full speed, easily overtaking Kanan.

Once at the top he quickly hopped over to the entrance hatch. Without a second thought he used a familiar USB and plugged it into the systems.

{"Sup Ez?"} The voice of CHOPPER said, slightly confused. Ezra never used the USB since Chopper started looping unless he needed help with something.

While Chopper was himself because of gaining a soul, CHOPPER was more or less Ezra's personal AI now that he was just a bundle of old loop memories. Every once in a while Chopper let him sync up and share data, but not very often since the astromech preferred being his own mind.

"It's Mike right now, CHOP." He said quietly. "And you're an AI I designed called LOKI."

{"Ah, gotcha.}" CHOPPER didn't need any further explanation to slip into his own alias. {"What would you like me to do, boss?"}

"Cause some chaos in the ship, make them think there's a virus or something. They were bound to hear us coming up the side and I don't think they're going to just ignore that." He said loud enough for Kanan to hear coming up.

_{"You got it boss!"}_ LOKI dove into the ship's systems as Mike removed the USB.

"And that was?" Kanan raised an eyebrow.

"LOKI, stands for something really complicated. He's an AI I built a couple of years ago." Mike put the USB away and easily opened the door. "After you," Kanan passed him as he grinned.

It was easy to sneak into the cargo area once LOKI started distracting the crew, Kanan and Mike made it to the area without a single hiccup. Examining the crates Mike realized it was a simple rations run.

"Really? All that for some ration bars?" He asked amusedly, knowing why they stole food but pretending he didn't.

"You'll see why later." Kanan didn't notice the knowing eye roll.

It was ridiculously easy to open the cargo hatch and put everything in the Ghost with LOKI running rampant. Before they left Mike plugged the USB in again on a port near the cargo hatch.

"Come on Lo',"

{"Thanks for the exercise, boss."} LOKI said teasingly before going back into the data stick.

"Best invention I ever made." Mike chuckled, meaning more than he said. He followed Kanan out the cargo hatch and back into the Ghost with a quick jump midair.

Landing in a perfect roll Ezra watched him in surprise as he entered.

"What happened in there?" Sabine asked curiously. "It's like the ship was completely unresponsive, they only barely noticed we were here."

"That would be the work of LOKI here," Mike plugged the AI into a keyboard on one of his armbraces.

The AI popped up a credible image of the actual Loki. {"Sup."}

Chopper whistled at the AI interestingly.

{"Hi there,"} LOKI waved to the droid. {"Don't forget that deal you made earlier, boss."} He teased, reminding Mike of one of the conditions the Looping Chopper had made for CHOPPER when he'd decided to stop having 'Mike' upload his memories. LOKI had spoken in Cybertronic Engineering Code so that the people around didn't understand him and get suspicious, though he usually spoke in English.

"Yeah yeah, I remember." Mike rolled his eyes as he lowered his arm and left the hologram of LOKI in midair. "So what's the verdict?" He asked the crew members.

They looked at each other for a few minutes before turning back to him.

"Welcome to the Ghost's Spectres, Spectre Seven." Kanan held his hand out.

Mike shook his hand with a grin. "Thanks for having me."

This loop was going to be pretty fun.

* * *

**8.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Sabine," Ezra whined as he was pulled away from his computer. While he appreciated the kiss she gave him he still didn't like being dragged away while he was busy.

"Come on, you've been working on that stupid program for hours." She leaned against his chair. "Hera's been really nervous since this is her first loop without you along with us."

"Well she should get used to it, I spend a lot of loops here at my tower." He froze once he said that. "Wrong thing to say?"

"Wrong thing to say." His girlfriend glared at him.

"I still can't get used to the idea of you two together," Hera admitted to the couple sharing a chair and cuddling.

"Took me a while to get used to too," Kanan shrugged. "Luckily I'd learned to block off the bond before then…"

At the face Hera made Zeb snickered. "You do realize they're both technically adults, right?"

"Well yeah, but they _look_ like teenagers…" Hera sighed.

"Hey, there are some loopers who are children in their baseline in relationships." Ezra spoke up.

"What?"

"That's right, you haven't had a crossover loop yet…" Sabine mused.

"Hey, I have an idea." Zeb snickered. "Weirdest pairings in our loop."

"No." Kanan groaned. "I have to deal with that enough…"

"Rules?" Sabine grinned.

"No stories that are mentally scarring and doesn't have to include a NonAwake crew member." Zeb grinned.

"I have mine right off the bat." Sabine smirked evilly.

"Wait a second, what's going on?" Hera looked at them all in confusion.

"A favourite pastime of loopers," Kanan said idly. "Tell embarrassing slash scarring stories about other loopers or others in general. And Sabine, I'm pretty sure that what you're thinking falls under mentally scarring."

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." She grinned.

"It _is_ that bad." Ezra deadpanned. "I'm just going to sit back and watch this one."

"I'll start out with the loop where a NonAwake Kanan was in a threesome with an Awake Ranma and some hooker Ranma picked up in a bar." Zeb grinned as Hera's eyebrows shot up and Kanan groaned.

"That doesn't count Zeb, you said in our loop." Ezra reminded him with a snicker.

"Why does the universe try pairing me with random people all the time?" Kanan exclaimed. "Seriously!"

"A threesome?" Hera couldn't help the amusement in her voice.

"I'm pretending I never heard of that, since I already didn't know about that loop." Kanan buried his face in his hands.

"Okay, then how about the time with the Inquisitor and that Sith girl?" Zeb pointed out.

"Oh yeah, I remember that loop." Ezra nodded. "I hid in my tower the whole time so I would stop laughing every time I saw them together."

"I don't think I can even contribute yet," Hera shook her head. "I can't think of anything as crazy as that."

"I know, there was once this loop where before Zeb's planet was destroyed a NonAwake him and Agent Kallus were together." Kanan laughed.

"Fragging Pit, you're joking right?!" Zeb looked horrified.

"Oh yeah! That was a really early one wasn't it?" Ezra cackled at the lasat's face. "It made an interesting loop seeing the chemistry between the two every time they started fighting." He snickered.

"Me? Him?" Zeb was looking more disgusted by the minute. "I did NOT need that mental image!" He pulled something out of his subspace pocket and took a drink of it before slumping against the wall. "I am never going to get that out of my head…" He moaned and hit his head against the wall.

"Aw Kanan, I was going to use that one," Sabine whined.

["Kanan and Hera, repeatedly throughout the loops, both NonAwake."] Chopper said as he passed by the door to the room.

"What?!" Hera yelped. "Y-you're kidding, I mean…"

Kanan rolled his eyes. "It's happened a lot, and I mean a LOT, through the loops. A lot of the time I've Awoken into relationships and had to keep it up the whole loop…" He mumbled.

"I've done that a lot." Zeb commented from where a small dent was forming in the wall.

"Please tell me it's not going to keep happening now that I'm looping." Hera begged.

"Sorry," Ezra shrugged. "It's bound to happen sooner or later." She groaned.

"Oh, I have one!" Sabine's look was practically predatory. "It was a loop with a Guest Anchor as Chopper, so you weren't Awake Ezra."

Ezra gave his girlfriend a scared look. "I'm not sure if I want to hear this."

Kanan paled. "Oh please not this, the Terminator guy told me about this when I looped into his loop a while later."

"Ezra. Kanan." Sabine cackled at the looks the two Jedi had.

"You're joking, right?!" Hera's eyes widened in shock.

"I'm about to literally be sick," Ezra's face was green.

"Isn't that..?"

"Yes, yes it was. And it was _hilarious_. But don't worry, they didn't 'do' anything." Sabine laughed manically.

"I hate you guys so much right now…" Kanan whimpered from the trashcan where he'd had to run.

* * *

**8.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra walked through his mindscape idly. Without even thinking about it his Pinkie Protection activated and the Inquisitor was soon panicking as he tried to retreat from the Anchor's mind.

"What's wrong Ezra?" Kanan asked, having sensed the usual once-every-three-loops attack on his padawan's mind. "You're usually ecstatic to give him what he deserves."

"It's almost getting old." He shrugged. "I mean, it's Pinkie, it never really gets old. But it's not as funny anymore. I'm trying to think up another way to kick him out of my mind."

"I can show you what I did that loop we switched places." Kanan shrugged.

"Sure."

With a small amount of guiding from Kanan, the mindscape disappeared and there was nothing. Lightning fast memories flashed by, so fast that you couldn't tell what they were about but slow enough to get a general impression on them.

Ezra recognized them as looper memories.

"So _that's_ why he was pretty much catatonic the rest of the loop…" Ezra put a hand to his chin in thought as the Inquisitor was left running around in circles trying to escape the onslaught of memories.

"Yeah, I was really just experimenting. Turns out nonloopers can't really comprehend so many memories hitting them at once." Kanan shrugged, the Pau'an falling to the floor twitching.

"I think it's similar to how it takes a few loops to really get used to loop memories," Ezra commented.

"Maybe. Think it'll work for you?"

"No, not really funny enough. But now I have an idea to see if I can't reform him by shoving 'positive' memories at him…"

"That sounds interesting, mind if I help when you try that? I don't think he's getting up for the rest of the loop…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8.1: 7.2 continued. There's a huge difference between CHOPPER and Chopper. Chopper has a soul, while CHOPPER is quite literally an AI. Around the time Chopper gained his soul the backed up memories sort of gained an intelligence of their own because they'd pretty much been on there for MILLENIA. Also, Ezra finds his NonAwake self just plain cute. "He's so innocent... and kind of an idiot... I see why Sabine didn't want to date me back then..."
> 
> 8.2: I apparently lied. Have more Ezra/Sabine fluff. Loopers constantly tell stories. Pairings are evil, as many loopers understand. Pairing stories of people when they're not Awake are at the same time funny and horrifying. I feel the need to clear this up. When I watch shows I see the 'typical' ships people will follow. Kanera and Ezra/Sabine (whatever the ship name is for that), for example. Then I see the weird ones. Zebra, mostly... But then there are the ones that I don't exactly like but I still see why some WOULD ship it. The thing about pairings in their loop is if it's unharmful, the others will let it play out. For entertainment value if nothing else. If they had 'done' anything the loopers would have very likely stepped in and beat the slag out of a certain someone... Especially Sabine. She'd have gone full overprotective girlfriend for her NonAwake boyfriend's sake. But sometimes these weird and completely WRONG pairings just happen. They are weird in the duration of the loop but the loopers usually know that weird stuff is gonna happen. Stopping it every time is a surefire way to eventually go nuts. But if it gets dangerous or inappropriate they step in and fix things. The matter then becomes entertainment value for the future loops.
> 
> 8.3: It DOES get tedious after so long.


	9. TCAoaTTP 9

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**9.1** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Zeb woke up, small letters, in his bed. He didn't really notice anything for a few minutes until he realized through hazy loop memories that it was on _his PLANET_. Without a second thought he jumped up with wide eyes.

"Easy there, you were injured pretty badly in that accident." He turned to the nurse keeping an eye on him, a few blurry loop memories setting in and the feel of several dangerous burns across his body making him hiss in pain.

It took a long while for him to notice that everyone was treating him strangely. It took even longer for him to realize why.

Scientifically, he shouldn't even be _alive_. The explosion (caused by an accident, he'd been told) had hit him straight on. He was playing around with the theory that he'd been hit right as he Awoke, meaning his many abilities gained through the loops had kept him from dying.

(Said abilities included the Force, Iron Dragonslayer Magic, an Aesir's All Tongue from being Thor, and the many odds and ends he'd picked up. With all these it wasn't so difficult to believe he'd been saved.)

The bad thing was, lasat were generally very down to earth creatures. The fact that he'd survived nearly being burnt alive and had healed at an impossible rate had mystified them and outcast him more than a little.

He couldn't get much of anything out of his loop memories, the explosion might have hit him a millisecond _before_ Awakening causing the memories to be damaged. So he had to go along with the 'diagnoses' of amnesia from his injuries.

It was getting frustrating, he was being treated like a glass object that would break if anyone even touched him. It would probably be true if he were a normal person, but as an experienced looper it was driving him insane. Though it gave him an excuse to not have any ties with anyone.

Having escaped his 'babysitters' for the moment, Zeb used a touch of force to convince a guard he had never passed by. The wall protecting the city from the wilds of Lasan was made of metal. Luckily for Zeb, metal was his _thing_.

All he did was walk straight into it. He'd been practicing this spell, he'd called it 'Iron Acquisition'. It allowed him to walk through metal like it was water. He was also planning on showing Gajeel it the next time he saw the Dragonslayer.

It was only a matter of moments before he passed through the outside of the wall and was hidden in the trees. A passing word to a lizard-like flying creature gave him an early warning system if any big predators came by.

He was only too happy to hide in the forest for the rest of the loop if he had to.

Unluckily for him, right about now was when Lasan was usually destroyed by the Empire.

"No slaggin' way I'm letting those Barzulns get away with it this time…" He growled to himself as he typed quietly on a 'liberated' computer. "Now, let's see if I can remember those hacking instructions Ezra gave me that one loop…"

_TheIronSpeaker: You're joking._

_BTHead: Nope. Sorry Zeb._

_TheIronSpeaker: No way am I letting them get away with this!_

_BTHead: Sorry Zeb, I can't help you on this…_

_BTHead: Unless… 8D_

_BTHead: IDEA_

_TheIronSpeaker: Why do I get the feeling you're making that really creepy cackling sound?_

_BTHead: Because I am_

_TheIronSpeaker: …_

_TheIronSpeaker: Alright spill._

_TheIronSpeaker: What's your plan?_

_BTHead: Okay, it involves you being one of my company's representatives._

_BTHead: And possibly involves Agent Kallus. :3_

_TheIronSpeaker: …I get a bad feeling I'm going to regret this. But continue._

*a few minutes later*

_BTHead: *cackling evilly*_

_TheIronSpeaker: I'm not sure whether to join you or freak out._

_TheIronSpeaker: This plan is nuts._

_BTHead: Since when are our plans ever NOT nuts?_

_TheIronSpeaker: …Touché._

Zeb was very happy that he'd had a few loops as a Jedi. Otherwise, without having a strong ability in the Force, this _never_ would have worked.

"Come on you stupid planet-destroying Imperial idiot, take the bait already!" Zeb hissed quietly as he clung haphazardly to the ceiling of the room that Agent Kallus was currently in. He'd compelled Kallus to come to the room and the Agent was looking around suspiciously.

Right as Kallus was about to call for his guards, a scroll hit his head. He swung around, blaster in hand ready to take out any intruders. The idiot never bothered to look up.

Taking the scroll Kallus looked it over carefully. It was a perfectly ordinary looking scroll, though he'd likely never seen one before. Ezra was often cursing the stupidity of people in their loop when coming into contact with 'outdated' things.

"What the-" Kallus never finished his sentence. As soon as he opened the scroll the designs inside transported him to Ezra's current location, where the Anchor then proceeded to hit him with one side of the Ying Yang Yoyo.

Ezra found the Xiaolin monks' loop very interesting.

Kallus sputtered as he found himself in another room, a scroll similar to the one he'd bene investigating in front of him. Before he could react a blue haired child threw a small object on a string at him.

He flung his arms up to protect his face on instinct, but the object only needed contact.

There was a bright light and everything seemed to flip.

*a few hours previously*

_TheIronSpeaker: Okay, so I get the rest of it but what is this Ying Yang Yoyo supposed to do again?_

_BTHead: The Ying Yang Yoyo is a Shen Gon Wu designed to open a portal to the Ying Yang world._

_BTHead: If you happen to hit someone with one side of it, well, things get interesting._

_TheIronSpeaker: Interesting?_

_BTHead: Say in that loop's baseline. Jack Spicer, the 'villain', was hit with the 'good' side and was flipped from an idiot who was bad at being evil because he messed things up to an idiot who messed things up but was honestly trying to be good._

_TheIronSpeaker: …_

_TheIronSpeaker: Do you have extra loop copies of that thing?_

* * *

**9.2** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"EZRA!" Kanan yelled as he watched the Inquisitor throw him across the room. He then blinked and shook his head. "Okay, weirdest moment to Awaken number five…" He muttered, quickly flinging the Pau'an backwards with a strong burst of Force.

_|"Oh hey, that almost makes it onto my 'Weirdest Moments to Awaken' list…"|_ He heard across the bond from Ezra. |" _Owch. Make that number six on 'Most Painful Ways to Awaken'…"|_

_|"Anyone else Awake just now?"|_ Kanan asked to the several unnatural extensions of the bond.

_|"I just had my arms and legs tied together, hold on."|_ Zeb reported.

_|"My ship's in pieces!"|_ Hera bemoaned.

_|"She means we're both in a cell."|_ Sabine noted. |" _And yes."|_

_|"I am currently using the Force to beat it into the heads of several stormtroopers on why we do NOT TRY TO DISASSEMBLE LOOPING ROBOTS WHO CAN DESTROY YOU."|_ Chopper whirled angrily.

Taking a quick moment to knock the Inquisitor out, Kanan helped pull Ezra to his feet. |" _So is that a general yes?"|_

_|"Yes."|_

_|"Uh huh."|_

_|"Yup."|_

_|"My ship…"|_

_|"What is up with this loop?"|_ Kanan broadcasted in confusion.

"I think, that." Ezra pointed to the massive moon-sized object through the viewing panel of the ship they were apparently on. |" _Hey, am I the only one having trouble finding any loop memories or is that just an overall thing?"|_

_|"No, I can't find any either."|_

_|"Same here."|_

_|"Considering I am literally about to have my brains blown out, I'm having a little difficulty concentrating enough to try!"|_

_|"Sabine, think you can go give Zeb a hand?"_ Kanan went straight to the resident kunoichi.

_|"No prob. Already on my way."|_

_|"My SHIP."|_

_|"Hera, snap out of it."|_ Kanan shook his head as he and Ezra began making their way to wherever Chopper was, since he felt closer.

_|"Beware, I'm setting LOKI loose on this thing."|_ Ezra stopped by a port long enough to let his AI (who'd liked the name LOKI and stuck with it) into the systems and they continued on.

_|"Oh fragging Primus… uh, guys? See you next loop."|_

They all froze in shock and then grabbed for the nearest thing to stabilize them as the entire ship jerked wildly from the force of an explosion. There was a sense of loss and they took a moment to realize that Zeb had just died.

With an angry expression Ezra took out his tablet and made a connection to LOKI. "Lo'? Make their lives _hell_."

_"You've got it boss. Chopper, mind giving me a hand?"_ The AI responded angrily over the ship's intercom.

_|"Hera, snap out of it and pilot this thing so we don't crash. Sabine, get the egg-bombs out. The ones with the **permanent** smell. Ezra? Me and you are going to have a **talk** with whoever's in charge here."| _Kanan snapped out orders to the remaining loopers.

While they always came back the next loop, getting killed was NOT fun. And it also tended to piss off the loopers remaining.

* * *

**9.3** (RaphaelplusMikey)

Ezra and Sabine were cuddled up on a couch when the loop abruptly ended.

"What the heck?!" Ezra shot up from his seat in his tower. "Oh come ON."

"Dangit!" Sabine whined as she found herself aboard the Ghost. "What just happened?"

["Kallus."] Chopper reported from where he sat in the same room. ["That variant of him was smarter and just blew us up from afar. I was about to warn everyone but there wasn't enough time. Did he interrupt snuggle time?"] The droid teased.

"Yes, in fact, he did." Sabine growled. "And he's going to regret it." She stalked out of the room muttering about 'permanent egg-bombs'.

"What just happened?" Kanan frowned as the mandolorian left.

"What are you talking about?" Hera asked Chopper.

["Time loops. I might as well tell you guys now since she's going to mess up the timeline…"]

A few days later Sabine was sitting with Ezra in his tower, having left Chopper to keep an eye on the extremely confused NonAwake rebels.

"Do you really like cuddling so much?" Ezra asked amusedly as he watched a news report.

It was showing the public humiliation of Agent Kallus using several very _thorough_ methods that 'could not be shown on broadcast'.

"It's the calmest time I ever get to spend with you." Sabine grumbled.

"Okay, that's true," Ezra conceded. "But did you _seriously_ have to do all that?"

"There's also the fact that he killed us."

"Oh yeah, that too…"

* * *

**9.4** (RaphaelplusMikey)

"Oh my gosh." Ezra gaped at another version of Sabine. 'Mike' facepalmed.

"Great, now my cover's blown…" He grumbled. "You know, I was having a lot of fun keeping it hidden who I was."

"Sorry." The looping Sabine shrugged unapologetically to the man she could feel was her boyfriend in disguise.

"Wait, what?" Kanan blinked.

"Why is there another me?!" The nonlooping Sabine said rather frantically. Mike didn't blame her, she probably thought she was cloned or something.

"We can explain, but first. Get out of that." Sabine demanded to her boyfriend. He grinned apologetically as he released the spells hiding his appearance.

The rebels gaped as there was now two versions of both Sabine and Ezra.

"Hi, sorry about hiding and all." 'Mike' shrugged. "I knew you'd react like this. Want to give them the multiverse talk while they're in shock?" He asked his girlfriend.

"That's probably our best bet." She shrugged. "You know, I wonder if the others are going to Awaken now."

"Maybe, but we should probably stay away from them if we all are." He pointed to the nonloopers. "They probably wouldn't take it too well…"

"They're _not_ taking it well." Sabine rolled her eyes,

"What..?" Hera said weakly.

"Here's a good question, have any of you ever heard the concept of time loops?"

Chopper whirled hilariously.

"You don't count Chopper, I had LOKI fill you in on the situation weeks ago."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9.1: I don't remember what I was going for when I started this. On the other hand, this provides much opportunity... *evil grin*
> 
> 9.2: Again I have no idea what the point of this segment was but it came out pretty good. Kanan and Ezra, as loopers, are both susceptible to the dark side because of... well, what do you think? They're living for eternity in a friggin madhouse. But they've also found ways to do traditionally 'dark side' things without actually slipping because of experience. Such as getting revenge when one of the crew gets killed. After all, one doesn't need to kill/go mad to have revenge. 
> 
> 9.3: Apparently I'm just gonna be throwing in little Ezra/Sabine tidbits here and there. Enjoy.
> 
> 9.4: 7.2 Continued again. Ezra is pouting because she ruined his fun.


	10. TCAoaTTP 10

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **10.1** (McRai thePrinx's)

Kallus blinked and twitched. And twitched again. And trembled.

"Uh, are you okay?" A younger than normal version of Ezra waved his hand in front of the man's face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH-"

"I'll take that as a no. Weird, the Ying Yang Yoyo usually doesn't have that effect…"

"AAAAAAAAHHH-"

"Oh shut up, you're not physically capable of being bad anymore so you might as well get ready to help us out with something…"

"I… I… I…" He twitched violently.

"Oh, I think I get it. You're freaking out because of the memories of some of the bad things you've done." The man nodded mutely in horror. "Well at least we know the Yoyo worked."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_BTHead: Hey Zeb?_

_TheIronSpeaker: What?_

_BTHead: We might have to postpone the plan until Kallus becomes mentally stable again…_

_TheIronSpeaker: Why?!_

_BTHead: Because he had a breakdown when I said that he ends up destroying your planet…_

_BTHead: Oh, and already had a panic attack about the memories of things he'd done._

_TheIronSpeaker: …_

_TheIronSpeaker: Well at least we know the yoyo thing worked._

_BTHead: That's what I said!_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"No, wait, I… I don't want that to happen." Kallus gulped. "I want to help. I know I did all those bad things but you have to let me help!"

"Not to make it sound bad or anything, but we kind of turned you good for that exact reason…" Ezra scratched the back of his head.

"And I get that! It's weird and a little too manipulative for comfort, but I completely understand your reasoning! So let me help, I may have freaked out a lot at first but that's because…. Well, who wouldn't?" Ezra shrugged admittingly. The guy had a point. "But let me help. I _need_ to help. I can't let this happen! Or, happen… _again_ , or, whatever… Tenses are confusing, how do you do it?"

"Meh, we usually just use random ones." The Anchor shrugged. "I'm willing to let you help but you should probably know. Zeb has more than a little hatred for you, or at least your bad self. It's understandable really. I think he's willing to give you a shot, especially since you're helping us out, but he's probably never going to be really friendly with you."

"I… I understand. And I don't blame him, if what you've said is true." Kallus had the grace to look ashamed.

"Okay then, operation: Project Lasan is a go!" Ezra yelled, startling the other.

 _"Yay~!"_ LOKI cheered.

* * *

 **10.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra smiled. He waved to the crowds and then turned right around and walked back into his house.

"Karrabast, I hate famous loops…" He groaned and rubbed his face. He poked at the bundle of loop memories in his subconscious that he hadn't had time to try and crack open.

"Sir usually does as well." He didn't even flinch at the British AI.

"I'm guessing you're a looping AI?" He asked boredly.

"Of sorts. Now, would you like the plotline to this loop, a summary, or would you like to 'wing it' as Sir does?"

"Give me the plotline but don't go too far into detail unless necessary." He said without even pausing. "Is this a crossover or just a replacement? Or do you not have a way to tell?"

"I believe it is a crossover, as I certainly do not recall an organization called the Empire." An AI with snark. Just Ezra's type.

Ezra groaned. "Alright, I need a little help here with something else. I can't seem to access my loop memories. It's like they're locked up in my subconscious." There was silence for the moment as JARVIS contemplated this.

"May I?" Ezra felt a telepathic poke at his mind. He opened up to it easily. "I believe I see the problem."

 _'Oh hey Jar', where am I?'_ Ezra raised an eyebrow at the voice sounding in his head.

"Sir, it would appear that the visiting looper has replaced an odd mixture of yourself and Doctor Banner."

 _'…Oh, hi there. I'm Tony. The Anchor. Because I'm awesome like that. And what do you mean by… Oh-'_ Ezra tuned out the curses that started coming from the back of his head.

_'I'd appreciate it if you didn't cuss in my head. Or at least tone it down a bit. What's going on?'_

Tony ignored him. _'You've got to be kidding me! Out of all the times, I replace Hulk when **I'm** being replaced by a different looper?!'_

 _'I'm so confused right now.'_ Ezra noted idly as he began looking over the garage with some _awesome_ machines that he was totally going to put to use sometime.

"About that plotline." JARVIS supplied helpfully, bringing up a holoscreen to show an actual timeline.

* * *

 **10.3** (McRai thePrinx's)

"I am so confused right now…" Ezra buried his head in his hands.

They were all sitting down and 'Mike' had helped the other Sabine explain what was going on. At the moment the two loopers were discussing names she could use so the nonloopers didn't get confused.

"I still like Sable." She crossed her arms stubbornly. Mike winced.

"You are _trying_ to give me flashbacks aren't you…" He muttered.

"Not my fault you guys don't like those types of loops."

"They're _genderbender loops! Nobody_ likes them!" He complained.

"Well me and Hera never mind them." She shrugged unapologetically.

"Whatever. What about Ash's loop?"

"I am not going by Misty." She glared at him.

"Why not? I thought you liked that loop?"

"I liked the fact that there were adorable creatures capable of blowing things up without even trying." She deadpanned. "Pokémon are awesome, the rest of that loop? Not so much."

"Okay I see your point on that." He admitted.

"Why not just let her go by Sable?" Hera finally spoke up, having gotten her thoughts in order on the whole situation.

Mike's eye twitched. "Because I really, really, _really_ hate that loop."

"Did you say genderbender?" Ezra was still in slight shock. The looping Sabine smirked maliciously.

"Oh yeah, I don't really care about those loops. Most girls apparently don't. But the guys always hate it. Isn't that right,"

"Don't you _dare_ ," Mike groaned.

" _Erza_?" Nonlooping Sabine snickered with her counterpart and Mike facepalmed. Ezra paled amusingly.

"Two of them, my torment shall never cease." He said in the driest deadpan he'd ever used. "Fine, go by Sable. But you owe me the next Freddy loop," He warned her.

She made a face. "You drive a hard bargain." She nodded anyways.

"Freddy?" Kanan couldn't help but ask. He wasn't sure exactly how to take the idea that the Jedi Mike had been an alternate version of Ezra all along.

Both loopers winced.

"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza." Mike rubbed his forehead. "It sounds harmless but it's one of the most horrifying loops I've come across."

"Animatronic animals trying to stuff you, always looping in as the nighttime security guard, inside a metal suit filled with crossbeams, metal wires, and movement joints. All while you're trying to keep track of said giant, creepy things in the dead of the night with nothing to protect you but security cameras and two blast doors. Not to mention that if you use the cameras and doors too much you run out of battery and you automatically get killed." Sable rubbed her own forehead. "Ugh, I can't count how many times that stupid rabbit got me…"

"I actually tried using LOKI to outsmart that loop," Mike said. "It didn't work. At all. It ended very, very terribly."

"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow.

He shuddered. "Imagine them with AIs…" Sable's eyes widened in horror.

"You're telling me they don't already have them?! I thought for sure that was why the dang things were always trying to kill people!"

"Turns out nobody really knows what the heck's going on with that loop… Though the original security guard supposedly started looping a while back." Mike shook his head. "I pity that guy, I really do…"

"What are they even talking about?" Zeb asked Hear in confusion. "It doesn't sound too scary, yeah sure a little creepy but-"

Before he could say another word a hologram of a giant, mechanical bear that was rusted and terrifying jumped in front of them with the most unearthly screech. All the nonloopers screamed their heads off while the two loopers froze solid and trembled with a few eye twitches.

"I will not allow you to say something so untrue about the horror that is Freddy's." LOKI growled. "My apologies, boss. Boss's girlfriend."

"It was necessary." Mike ground out. "But we have a telepathic bond from Nanoha's loop, _please_ use the dang thing next time you plan on doing something like that…"

"Woah woah woah, _girlfriend?!_ " Sabine turned to Mike and Sable.

"That's what you got out of that?" Sable asked.

"I think the point is to pretend it never happened." Mike nodded.

"Answer the question!"

"Well, number one you technically didn't ask a question. Number two, yes. We've been dating for a while in the loops. But neither of us even touched the possibility with a ten foot pole until we'd both thought it through very clearly." Sable crossed her arms.

"There might also have been a pained, delirium induced confession along there somewhere," Mike allowed.

"And then a few loops of us thinking it over." Sable added on.

"True. But before you guys say anything, let me just say. Couples throughout the loops change." Mike leaned forwards with a rare serious expression. "In my time as the Anchor of our loop, I've seen every person possible paired with every _other_ person possible. And _relationships_ change. I've seen more breakups and get togethers than most could even think about. In the loops, loopers don't usually stay in relationships very long outside of baseline. And the loops are very, very, _very_ important in decision making over anything."

Sable took over. "We literally spent lifetimes debating over how we wanted to take things. I actually was the one to ask him out. As the Anchor, he's looping all of the time. More than I'm ever Awake. We have been dating for over _two hundred_ loops by this point. Two hundred lifetimes. We have to think things through and be extremely careful about us because in the loops, sometimes the rest of the crew isn't Awake."

" _Those_ loops are usually the ones where we have to pretend we barely even know each other. Now, all of this isn't to say it couldn't happen here. Like I said I've seen every pairing imaginable. Even if some of them are horrifying and should never have existed, they always work." Mike was elbowed in the ribs. "Like I said, anything could happen. Heck, there have been a few loops where I literally did not see a single couple the entire time!" He leaned back, serious mood gone.

"Those loops are actually closest to baseline," Sable shrugged.

"True."

"What just happened?" Hera blinked.

"You just experienced the full length of a looper's attention span and ability to think sanely. Try again tomorrow or input one credit to try again!" LOKI replied cheerily.

* * *

 **10.4** (McRai thePrinx's)

"Kanan, what's wrong?" Ezra knocked on his master's door.

"Snow. Not doing it, nope." Kanan yelled to him from inside.

"Wait… are you _still_ not over that weird sled tournament thing?" Ezra looked at the door amusedly.

"No! …Maybe."

Ezra rolled his eyes. "You're going to have to deal with it _eventually_ ," He said.

"Not if I don't leave my room!"

"You're acting like a child."

"Well you technically are one."

"And compared to me, _you_ are one. Now come out."

"Nope! Not happening!"

Ezra sighed and rolled his eyes. Might as well let the loops use their sense of humor to deal with this problem.

* * *

 **10.5** (McRai thePrinx's)

"You have to make a connection-"

"Aw, it's so cute! Here kitty kitty!" Ezra walked right up to the creature and picked it up, Kanan staring blankly. "Aw, does kitty like being petted? Hey look Kanan, its purring!"

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"AAAAAAHHH!" Ezra took one look at the creature and ran away screaming

"Really Kanan, did you not know he's got a phobia of cats?" Sabine shook her head.

* * *

"You have to make a connection- what are you doing?"

"Making business investments." Ezra typed away at his tablet. "Oh hey, nice cat."

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Uh, Kanan?" Ezra's eyes bulged. This was NOT baseline.

"What is it Ezra?" He turned around and couldn't restrain the squeak when he came face to face with a ship sized version of it growling angrily.

"I think the connection would be better made with the mom…"

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Seriously, what is this thing?" Ezra bent down and poked it with a stick. Kanan had no idea where he'd gotten said stick. The creature batted playfully at the stick. "Is it some type of cat? Or bat? Or something else that rhymes with at?"

Kanan facepalmed. "You ruined my teacher moment, Ezra."

"Yeah yeah, we're both Awake we know how this moment goes. But I'm serious here. Throughout the loops I _still_ haven't managed to figure out what this thing is."

"I have no idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10.1: You guys are probably confused but I know where this is going so I'mma just cackle evilly. I am a HUGE fan of good!Kallus. Kallus is like, my favorite villain. (well not exactly but he's pretty high on the list under Loki and Lucifer (spn))
> 
> 10.2: I don't even know but it's funny. I believe Tony would make a fantastically hilarious Anchor.
> 
> 10.3: 7.2 continued. Looping Ezra will for now be refered to as Mike in this loop and Looping Sabine will be called Sable. Sable. Sable. I don't know why but I really like that name. Five Night's at Freddy's ~ LOKI is a troll plain and simple.
> 
> 10.4: Yup. Still hanging onto this.
> 
> 10.5: Kind of just strung them all together... I know that's not the exact words but it was funny okay!


	11. TCAoaTTP 11

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**11.1** (McRai thePrinx's)

"You have to make a connection-Ezra, don't even think about it."

Ezra pouted and lowered the pie.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-there's something behind me isn't there."

An oddly NonAwake Ezra nodded mutely.

Kanan turned around, ready to deal with whatever hell the loops had decided to throw at him this time, and flat out fainted when he came face to face with Freddy's face.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Hey master?" Sabine raised her hand.

"Yes, Sabine." Kanan rubbed his hand over his forehead. Why did he have to deal with two padawans?

"Why can't we just pet it?"

Kanan facepalmed.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-" Kanan couldn't help but stop in his instructions and snicker. "To… your dragon…" He couldn't stop the snickers.

"What?" Eragon looked at his teacher curiously.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"…You're Awake aren't you."

"Aw dang it… To be fair I'm a looper from a different loop."

"I have been incredibly confused for quite a while." The NonAwake Glaedr rumbled tiredly.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"I have Wi-Fi, does that count?" Ezra waved his tablet.

* * *

"Connection a make to have you-"

"Loop this hate I."

* * *

"You have to make a connection-" Kanan twitched and screamed when a snowball hit his face. "Nonononono-"

"Huh, so it existed in baseline too..?"

* * *

**11.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra allowed his anger at the Inquisitor to power him as he reached with the Force to the mind sequestered at the bottom of the ravine-

Actually he just used his powerful connection with the Force to do it, but appearances you know.

The Inquisitor's eyes widened while the deadly looking creature towered over Ezra and snarled viciously at him… and then he frowned in confusion when Ezra smirked.

"Go ahead and say it, I look pretty badass."

* * *

**11.3** (McRai thePrinx's)

"I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you,"

"Ezra, what did you do to Zeb?"

"That was so frickin awesome." Ezra squeed. Actually squeed. Hera couldn't hold in the 'aww' at how cute it was.

"I hate you I hate you I hate you,"

"Don't worry, it was just a stunt loop gone wrong." Sabine shrugged, enjoying the rare loop where everyone but Kanan was Awake and they could therefore drive him insane without any retribution later in the loops.

* * *

**11.4** (McRai thePrinx's)

Kallus gaped when an explosion went off in his face…

...and then he blinked and he was sitting in his desk. He calmly stood up and cancelled all his duties for the day, luckily minor ones that could be pushed off on lackeys, then walked out of his office and headed to his private quarters. Once there he calmly and casually turned off any security cameras.

And there he proceeded to have a complete mental breakdown.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_Yoyo'd: Ezra._

_BTHead: …How do you know that name?_

_BTHead: And for that, how did you get me on this chat?_

_BTHead: This is my company's private browser!_

_Yoyo'd: If I wasn't currently losing my composure in every way possible I would be able to remember the code words you told me, but since I'm not thinking clearly I can't remember a bit of it. I'm looping and please tell me that I didn't actually…_

_BTHead: Wait a second…_

_BTHead: Oh my god._

_BTHead: …Agent Kallus?_

_Yoyo'd: I'm not 'good' right now but I was. I'm currently trying my hardest to settle the moral conflictions in my mind. I am very VERY positive that is not something best done in the environment the Empire has._

_BTHead: …_

_BTHead: I'll… organize a… something between my company and the Empire..._

_BTHead: Try and hold it together until then, okay?_

_Yoyo'd: Thank you._

_Yoyo'd: …Please hurry._

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kallus was sitting on Ezra's couch.

Agent Kallus was sitting on Ezra Bridger's couch.

Nope, no matter how Zeb thought that sentence he couldn't make it make sense.

"Uh… Ezra?"

Kallus twitched violently.

"No you can't punch him. He's looping now."

"Wait… _WHAT?!_ "

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra watched the trembling man worriedly. In the loop where he'd used the Ying Yang Yoyo on Kallus, the reversed Agent had helped prevent the destruction of Zeb's planet and therefore allowed for an extremely satisfying vacation loop for the lasat.

Considering the positions the destruction of his planet usually put him in within the loops, Zeb deserved that vacation too.

Ezra had regretted the fact that the Agent had ended up killed in the conflict though. Sure he was going to be there next loop without any memory of it happening, but Ezra hated any deaths in the loops.

So when around twenty loops later Kallus contacted him telling him he was looping, Ezra could be forgiven for feeling a strange mixture of relief, excitement, and dread.

The good version of Agent Kallus was actually a very, well… _good_ person and Ezra had actually started to like the guy. (Unlike Jack's situation, Kallus was actually a competent villain. He was just unlucky enough to have a more competent rebel crew foiling his attempts at capturing them.)

Zeb had only barely accepted the fact that Kallus was there to help, so there was no real help the Agent could receive emotionally from the lasat. But right now Ezra needed anyone who'd been there in the situation to help the man sort through loop memories of being evil and memories of doing good.

So, despite his reservations on the matter, Ezra asked Zeb to come to his tower early in the loops.

"Yes, he's looping. Apparently he became enough of a friend to me that loop that it activated him." Ezra cut Zeb off before he could speak. "Right now not only is he dealing with the shock of his first loop, but he's having to deal with current loop memories and the loop memories of that loop." Ezra crossed his arms with a demanding look. It was his 'I'm the Anchor of this loop and could kick your butt if you make me angry' look. "Just think for a second. Try and see what he's going through at the moment."

Zeb huffed but complied and thought about it. He remembered the confusion of his own first loop… then remembered the few former villains from other loops he'd met. They talked about things they did in baseline casually at best and with multiple flinches and guilty looks at worst.

Zeb suddenly remembered Gajeel's baseline and physically flinched when he realized how absolutely horrible Kallus must be feeling at the moment.

"Eh… sorry?" He offered.

"Good enough, considering what's between you two." Ezra nodded. "Now. The biggest problem we have right now is that his PreAwakening self was not good… But in the other loop he was _made_ good, not reformed." Zeb blinked. "He's having trouble separating the 'good' him and the 'bad' him." Ezra deadpanned.

"Well why didn't you just say so?"

"Frag you. Right now we just need to encourage his 'good' self to be in charge. Obviously his 'bad' self is not a good idea." Ezra plopped down on the couch, Zeb walking over to stand near the two.

"Uh, hey Kallus…" He began awkwardly.

"Zeb, you speak more languages than technically exist if you count the boundaries of this loop. Why can you not hold a conversation?"

"Frag you."

Kallus snorted slightly. "Let's hope the rest of this conversation is as enlightening." His voice was shaky.

"Is it a conversation when we're bickering?"

"Are you going to ask another meaningless question?"

Kallus relaxed as the two sniped back and forth. _This_ was what he'd seen much of in his first loop. It was actually comforting listening to them.

He settled in for a long, extremely amusing time until his head would stop hurting.

* * *

**11.5** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra Awoke and paled.

"NOT. FRICKIN. HAPPENING." He stormed past the Inquisitor and without a second thought headed to throw himself out an airlock somewhere to subsequently end the loop.

The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow at his apprentice but continued on down the hallway.

* * *

**11.6** (McRai thePrinx's)

"Um, Mike?"

"Yes, younger me?"

"Number one, stop calling me that it's creepy. Number two, what _are_ you doing?"

"I'm doing Science! Now leave unless you want to be the first human to glow in the dark and spontaneously combust…"

Ezra backed out of the room warily.

* * *

**11.7** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra blinked and shook his head as he Awoke, and then fistpumped. He loved these loops! And right on time too!

"Mom, Dad, we need to talk! I have a girlfriend and I need to know what you guys know about time loops!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine smiled as she shook Ezra's parent's hands. "You guys are taking this very well,"

"Well him using the Force and pulling out a lightsaber was very convincing." Ephraim shook his head. "Also, he did give us some time to absorb the idea…"

Mira smiled. "And the way he talked about you? He's in love, not just a crush." Sabine blushed slightly. "That doesn't come without experience."

"Mom, Dad…" Ezra whined with a blush of his own. "You know that I'm capable of literally dying of embarrassment, right?"

"That loop cannot be related to other loops." Sabine said amusedly.

"Worth a try." Ezra looked between his girlfriend and his two parents. "So, I uh… have something to talk to Kanan about…" Ezra scratched the back of his head. "I'll just leave you guys to… bond, or something." Ezra rushed out of the room.

"Wow, he must be _really_ nervous. He's handled rotten egg-bombs with less nerves."

Ephraim couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, let's 'bond'. What is it you like to do, Sabine?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Sabine, what did you do to my parents?" Ezra watched with wide eyes as he walked into the room ten hours later to see three shapes covered in glowing blue powder.

"Tried to show them how to make egg-bombs." She blew powder out her nose. "Not sure what happened."

"It was fun all the same." Mira giggled.

"What did you tell them." Ezra demanded with a horrified expression.

"Only some of my _favorite_ loops." Sabine teased.

"I hate you."

"Love you too."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_With Ezra, previously…_

_|"Kanan, I… I'm nervous. I'm not sure I can go through with all of this."|_

_|"Relax Ezra, you two are made for each other. This'll work out."|_

_|"But what if she doesn't like my parents? What if **they** don't like **her**?! Then what if when I meet **her's** something happens and-"|_ Ezra was surprised to receive the mental equivalent of a slap in the face.

_|"I know that the Jedi order doesn't allow love, but screw that we're time loopers so I'm giving you advice anyways. Ezra, you both love each other. You've both made some big steps with each other already and I'm sure everything will go fine. From what I've seen, your parents are great. She'll love them and they'll enjoy meeting her even if they're confused out of their minds. As for her's? I don't think you have to worry much about that."|_

_|"Why not?"|_

_|"Remember how a long while back there were those crashes in Yggdrasil and some things were lost in the loops? Well, Sabine told me once that her baseline past was one of those things."|_

_|"…Oh…"|_

_|"Exactly. You can still ask, but you're most likely going to get told the same thing. So hurry up on your planning and know that we're always here to give you some strength and advice."|_

_|"…You guys were listening in."|_

_|"Actually, Kanan invited us to listen. And if what I just picked up is true I'm hugging you with a squee the next time I see you."|_ Hera said amusedly.

* * *

**11.8** (McRai thePrinx's)

"You're joking." Ezra stared at Hera, who looked more like Chopper this particular loop.

"HA-HA. DA-LEK-TWI-LEK. I-GET-IT. CHOP-PER, STOP-LAUGH-ING." Hera waved a mechanical doohickey through the air.

"I'm going to go back to bed and pretend this loop never happened." Sabine said monotone as she turned back around.

Ezra opened his mouth once she left.

"NO-EZ-RA, YOU-CAN-NOT-RUN-EX-PER-I-MENTS. WHO-VERSE-IS-READ-ON-LY-RE-MEM-BER? DON'T-WANT-TO-MAKE-AN-Y-MOD-ER-AT-ORS-AN-GRY. WHY-DO-DA-LEKS-HAVE-TO-TALK-SO-STU-PID?!"

Kanan facepalmed and followed Sabine's example.

* * *

**11.9** (McRai thePrinx's)

"You have to make a connection-"

"Didne wee alreadeh goo oover thus?"

"You have to make a connection-"

Kanan blinked as Ezra and the creature were both suddenly on the ground snoring. He sighed.

"This is what I get for trying to teach…"

"You have to make a… a… Dangit, Zeb, Ezra, would you please stop that?!"

After uncountable lifetimes of experimenting with this exact topic, Zeb had finally found one thing that no Jedi could ever focus through.

He vwapped through his kazoo again, Ezra snickering and doing the same.

"You have to make a connection," Kanan paused when nothing different happened. No humorous interruptions by loopers, no random event happening that didn't happen in baseline, nothing.

"Yes Kanan?" Ezra raised an eyebrow, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Oh I see what you did there."

The lesson continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11.1: I like messing around with this.
> 
> 11.2: My thoughts regarding this scene.
> 
> 11.3: They like screwing around with NonAwake Kanan because he can't get back at them later.
> 
> 11.4: And now you know why I was doing that! *fistpumps* I love good!Kallus ~ Also poor Kallus he is so confused.
> 
> 11.5: Haha I don't even really know I feel like that would be his response to that loop.
> 
> 11.6: 7.2 continued. 'Mike' really likes to mess with his nonlooping self.
> 
> 11.7: Sometimes Ezra will have loops where either 1: the Empire doesn't kill/capture his parents or 2: the Empire doesn't exist at all. He really loves those loops but they usually make him pretty gloomy afterwards.
> 
> 11.8: Lek?
> 
> 11.9: More~
> 
>  
> 
> Quick note on Zeb's seemingly very calm acceptance of Kallus looping. He's a looper. At this point he's really really really old and (whether they act it or not) all loopers are "wise". He knows that through the loops, villains don't usually stay villains and that Kallus has even more reason not to. Not to mention it's fairly obvious he's got the worst luck out of all the loopers so far. Every loop he's going to wake up with brand new memories of what atrocities he's committed this time. Zeb's not going to make things hard for someone who has to deal with that s**t. Also the fact that they're still having their "fights" helps a little. Just a little.


	12. TCAoaTTP 12

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **12.1** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra didn't bother asking where Hera and Kanan were going with the weapon crates, since Zeb was Awake and would just snark back at him.

"Grab a crate, pull your weight!" Sabine called back to Ezra. Ezra rolled his eyes, knowing full well that she was Awake too and just trying to annoy him. "What's the plan this loop Ezra? Hera and Kanan definitely aren't Awake, they asked where I got my 'new toys'." Sabine brushed off a patch of egg-bomb powder off a crate.

"Not sure, I'm thinking about going baseline. Haven't had one of those loops in a while." Ezra shrugged as he chose the crate he always ended up with and followed the other two. "Oh, and Zeb, Kallus is Awake. He asked for you to give him a run for his money in those duals you guys always have, in not so many words. I'm pretty sure he's trying to learn more about weaponry and fighting now."

Zeb gave an evil grin. "Oh I'll give him a challenge."

"No killing him." Ezra rolled his eyes. "Remember that whenever you kill him in the loops, the next person assigned to trying to 'apprehend' us is always worse."

"Yeah yeah, how about injuring?"

"Go for it. He wants to learn the hard way through experience, something about encouragement to do better faster."

Zeb chuckled darkly and Sabine smacked his shoulder. "Next time you talk to him, let him know I'm willing to teach him a thing or two about ninjutsu if he wants."

"Sure, thanks for offering. I think he's starting to get settled in the loops finally."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kallus held in a gulp as Zeb grinned. _'Well, I did want to learn the hard way…'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Do not worry Agent Kallus, you are deemed as capable of making a full recovery. Your organs were avoided and only a few minor bones were broken, must have been him having some sort of 'honor' system." The doctor snorted. "A short while in the bacta tank and you'll be fine."

"Thank you doctor," Kallus nodded as much as he was able at the moment.

' _Oh he's good.'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The next time Zeb and Kallus faced off, Zeb was impressed. It seemed the Agent was good at learning from his mistakes.

This didn't mean much when facing a looper millennia older than him with loops worth of experience dueling NonAwake versions of him, but it was a start.

A very good start, Zeb noted as he narrowly dodged a jab at his head.

' _Let's just make this a little harder.'_

* * *

 **12.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

"Ezra, we need to talk." Kanan approached his padawan.

"Uh, sure." Ezra shrugged and flicked off his tablet. "What's this about?" _'Is this going to make it an even twenty times Kanan's figured out about the loops without looper influence?'_

"It's about you and Sabine."

Ezra's mind immediately screeched to a halt. _'Karrabast.'_

In most loops Kanan wasn't Awake he and Sabine kept their relationship secret. Awake Kanan could care less about the old Jedi code prohibiting relationships, but NonAwake Kanan would very often make things very complicated indeed.

One loop Sabine had 'kidnapped' him off to a distant moon just to get out of that particular situation.

This loop they'd accidentally been seen by Hera, who'd immediately made sure everyone knew about it. Kanan hadn't said anything about it so they'd assumed they were safe.

Apparently not.

"Look, I can explain," Ezra was more than willing to tell Kanan about the loops just so he and Sabine weren't bothered about it. If there was any time he didn't like his master in the loops it was when his NonAwake self started meddling in his and Sabine's relationship.

"No Ezra, I know I should have told you something about this sooner, but I never thought it would come up-" He stopped short at the wave of raw frustration Ezra threw at him through the bond. It was the ginormous crippling amount of emotion only capable of being felt by ancient beings. And they both knew it.

"No Kanan, I'm not going to hear it." Ezra stood up from his spinning chair and crossed his arms. Kanan didn't speak, still overwhelmed by the emotions coming over the bond. Something in his padawan's stance and voice also told him that speaking right now would be a very _very_ bad idea. "There are things called time loops, where time is repeating over and over again. Not everyone remembers and the ones who do don't always remember with each repeat. Including you." Ezra's eyes darkened into a dangerous glare and Kanan felt deep instincts inside him demanding him to start running. "Me and Sabine have been dating for longer than you could even comprehend because you. Are. Not. Awake. When you are, you don't care. I am NOT going to spend this loop trying to deal with you being a fracking drajl just because some old code doesn't want Jedi to be in love. So don't even try anything. Because I. Will. Not. Deal. With. It." Without another word Ezra walked out of the room.

Kanan was still fighting his flight instincts when Ezra shoved a bundle of emotions and memories across the bond.

He sat down shakily and had to use a Jedi calming technique three times before he stopped trembling.

Once that was done, he took a deep breath and began unravelling the 'package' he'd been given. He had a feeling it was very important…

* * *

 **12.3** (McRai thePrinx's)

"Nope." Ezra walked back out of the room tiredly. "Not doing it."

"What?" Hera asked, absently rubbing her swollen stomach.

_|"Good luck master, you'll need it…"|_

_|"You're telling me..?"|_ Kanan sent back weakly as he tried comforting the overemotional Hera.

* * *

 **12.4** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra appeared in his mindscape, readying himself as the Inquisitor whirled to face him.

"You, how are you doing this?!" He hissed angrily.

Ezra just grinned. "I'm a little loopy," He said teasingly, knowing the Inquisitor wouldn't understand the code. "Now hold on tight because I'm not sure how this is going to go. We both might end up as vegetables for the rest of this loop…"

"What are-" Was all he managed to get out before everything went dark.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Ezra? Ezra!" Kanan shook his padawan with a roll of his eyes. "What did you do to him this time?"

Ezra was still too caught up in giggling manically. "Hogwarts, HUFFLEPUFF!"

"What?" Kanan befuddled look seemed to snap Ezra out of the worst of it and he calmed down to chuckles.

"So you know how in Dean's loop, God keeps putting angels as mortals to make them 'realize their wrongs' and all that?"

"Yes, I remember because I was Castiel for some reason." Kanan deadpanned.

"Well, I used a variant of the idea to basically 'reincarnate' him in a world that existed in my head outside of real time." Ezra sunk back into giggles for a while before getting a hold of himself again. "I put him in Hogwarts and… and he was a Hufflepuff!" He fell backwards while cackling.

"You're joking right?" Kanan's jaw dropped.

"No!" Ezra gasped out. "The thing was, he didn't remember anything because I made sure he didn't! And! And! Oh it was hilarious!"

Kanan finally started laughing too. "Okay, you're _going_ to tell me all about it! I can't wait to hear this!"

"He punched Draco right in the face!" Ezra snickered hysterically. Kanan finally gave in and leaned against his padawan as he laughed. "It was so funny!"

* * *

 **12.5** (McRai thePrinx's)

Mike watched amusedly as the two Choppers beeped and whirled excitedly to each other.

"We're doomed." Zeb said, staring at the two astromechs in horror.

"You do know that LOKI was made from some of Chopper's memories backed up on a USB for too long, right?" Mike raised an eyebrow.

"That… explains a lot." Kanan looked to Mike's tablet, which was where LOKI preferred to generate his hologram form.

"Should I take offense to that?" LOKI asked over the intercom.

"Uh, guys?" Hera's voice followed. "Chopper isn't the only other looper who came…"

"Hi 'Mike', 'Sable'." An identical voice said. You could practically hear the amused grin.

"Oh hey, you going by Hannah for this loop?" Sable perked up eagerly.

"More than likely."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Hey Mike," Hannah caught his attention later in the hallway. "I met Yoyo'd. He's currently trying to avoid the Empire so he and his counterpart aren't experimented on. Plus, I don't think NonAwake Zeb would appreciate that he's looping."

"Probably not, but then again the rest of them wouldn't either." Mike shrugged. "Hey, seen any sign of our Kanan yet? I haven't felt him through the bond but you know he's the only one of us who can actually hide his Force signature."

"No, but I heard something about a 'metal monster' turning ships into crushed cans." Hannah said amusedly.

"That's Zeb alright," The anchor rolled his eyes. "I'll see if I can reach him. Otherwise, want me to generate a fake ID with BT Corps?"

"Sure. You _still_ set that company up even in, what, two months?"

"Hannah, I could set my company up in ten seconds if I wanted to. And the five second delay is because that's how long it'd take for anyone to realize there's completely revolutionary programming tech on the market." Mike deadpanned.

"Touché."

* * *

 **12.6** (McRai thePrinx's)

"Cannonball!" Ezra yelled as he jumped into the water.

"Hey, watch it kid!" Zeb splashed him as he came up for air.

"Ez, if you mess up my tan I'm kicking you back into Zeb's room for a week." Sabine rolled her eyes.

"Not going in the water Kanan?" Hera asked from a floaty.

"Not just yet, I need to learn how to swim first…" The Jedi scratched the back of his head when everyone turned to him.

"Wait, how do you not know how to swim?" Ezra asked in shock.

"I've never had a reason to learn!" Kanan defended. "Besides, I can't remember if I knew how in baseline or not. And I've never had any loop memories that could help me learn how."

"That's it, get in the water." Ezra pointed to the large, crystal clear pond right out of a fairy tale. "If I have to I'll cast a partial anamorphic spell."

Kanan looked nervously at the water. "I don't know…"

"Oh come on, the water's beautiful and the perfect temperature!" Hera rolled her eyes.

"…Ezra has to stop trying to get me over my fear of cold for the next ten loops we're both looping."

"Deal." Ezra said. "This is seriously a life skill, I don't know why you don't know how by now."

Kanan pulled off his shirt and began wading carefully into the shallow part of the pond. The two loopers messing around finally got annoyed, Zeb shoving Kanan into the deeper water and Ezra catching him.

"See? It's not so bad." Ezra grinned.

"I hate you guys so much." Kanan grumbled. "And I hate the loops too, I swear they use me as the running gag." He tried treading water but as soon as Ezra let go he started sinking.

The Anchor caught him and rolled his eyes. "Use your arms too, it takes a really strong swimmer to swim in one spot with just their legs."

Kanan suddenly screamed and something clicked instinctually. He swam like a lightning bolt out of the water, cursing up a storm.

Zeb came up next to Ezra laughing his butt off.

"That was great!"

"Zeb, did you really have to do that?" Sabine snickered.

"That was kind of mean." Hera covered her mouth to hide her smile.

"That was _hilarious!_ " Ezra clapped Zeb's shoulder as he fell into hysterics. "See master? Swimming isn't so hard!"

"I really _really_ hate you guys." Kanan muttered, huddled up in the shallow water with a deep scowl.

"Oh come on Kanan, lighten up!" Zeb laughed.

["I think I know what you mean by 'running gag' now,"] Chopper whirled to Kanan, far away from the water due to an extreme dislike of the stuff. He couldn't short out anymore but so long as a normal droid had cemented a hatred for getting wet.

"At least someone does, I swear I'm the only one who sees it…" Kanan got out of the water and grabbed a towel, sitting down by the droid. "I'm adding 'swimming' to my list of 'Things I'm never doing ever ever ever again' right under snow."

["Snow? Just snow?"]

"Yes. Snow involves everything cold."

["Ah, I get it. I don't really like the stuff either. It gets in joints and melts."]

"Really? Never thought of that, quick question. Will you ever do anything aimed towards getting me over my phobia?"

["Nope, I completely understand a phobia of cold stuff. I hate cold. I'm not scared of it though, just hate it."]

"I think we're going to get along great from now on…"

"Aw, look Sabine." Hera was getting out of the water to sit next to Sabine. "Kanan and Chopper are bonding."

"About time," The kunoichi chuckled. "Hey, can you help me put some sun tanning cream on my back? I think Ezra's distracted." The lasat had just dunked said teenager under the water.

"Sure." Hera shook her head at their antics. "I have a question of my own though, how long are we going to stay at this place? The loop looked pretty busy last time I checked."

Sabine looked around the beautiful shoreline and the sparkling water. She then looked at Hera and raised an eyebrow. "Not anytime soon, but it's not the first time we messed up the timeline because we weren't where we were supposed to be."

" _Very_ true." The twilek laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12.1: Similar to Ezra with his programming and Zeb with his languages, Sabine visited the Naruto loop and got into ninjutsu. Kallus is more getting into fighting in general.
> 
> 12.2: I apparently really like Ezra and Sabine being protective of each other.
> 
> 12.3: And then there are those loops. Poor Kanan.
> 
> 12.4: Haven't had one of these in a while.
> 
> 12.5: 7.2 continued. Think back to when Zeb replaced Gajeel, he's got Iron Dragonslaying magic.
> 
> 12.6: Mostly just fun fluff. :3


	13. TCAoaTTP 13

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **13.1** (McRai thePrinx's)

"Who are you kid?!" Kanan yelled as the blue haired teenager drove the speeder alongside him.

"Meh, just another street rat." Ezra shrugged, not really feeling it this loop.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Ezra? Are you okay?" Hera asked their 'new' crew member worriedly.

"Meh." He just shrugged and spun around again. Something was definitely wrong, even spinning around in his favorite spinning chair didn't cheer him up!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connection-"

Ezra sighed and didn't even bother looking at the cat creature, scratching its head as it purred and walked right up to him.

"I worked in the back of a pet shop once for a few extra credits. Animals apparently really like me." He shrugged noncommittally, not feeling the usual cackling fit that came over him whenever he messed with a NonAwake version of his master.

Kanan just facepalmed and chalked it up to the weirdness that was his padawan.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You little brat," Zeb paused in his rant at Ezra and blinked.

"Feeling a little loopy or something?" Ezra raised an eyebrow boredly.

"Yeah, feels like I just Awoke." Zeb shook his head, code given and received. Ezra waited patiently as he reviewed his loop memories. "Hey, what's up with you this loop?"

"I'm not sure, just… not really feeling it…" Ezra plopped down in his spinning chair, which 'magically' always happened to be wherever he needed it. He still thanked Rarity for teaching him that trick.

Zeb rolled his eyes. "Okay, spill. What happened last loop."

"Nothing, I swear." Ezra defended suspiciously. Now it was Zeb's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Okay, fine… Last loop just… It… There wasn't very much different about it, to be honest… As far as the crew goes. Everyone was exactly the same."

"But?" The lasat urged him on, getting a sinking feeling. The last time the Anchor had been this down was when he'd been in a Freddy's loop three times in a row.

"But we were with the Empire." Ezra groaned.

"You're kidding."

"Nope. That was the freaky thing, we were the bad guys but everyone was still… _them_ , you know? I only stuck around to be an infiltrator and to mess with things." Ezra sighed. "I just… want to spend the loop relaxing, okay?"

"Sure thing Ez," Zeb clapped his shoulder. "If any of the others Awake I'll let them know."

"Thanks Zeb." He sighed again, spinning idly.

* * *

 **13.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

"So, 'Hannah'?" Hera asked her counterpart curiously.

Hannah just shrugged. "It's pretty common to have names changed in the loops. Sometimes a name like Hera isn't normal, so the loops end up giving us different names. They usually have some connection, either with how they sound, similar letters, sometimes it's just one thing added on top of another. I'm still not sure where Ezra got 'Michael Pill' since that was long before I Awoke."

"You shall nevah know~!" LOKI snickered as the two twi'lek rolled their eyes.

"You're taking the loops a lot better than the others," Hannah noted. "In fact, better than I did my first loop."

"I guess it's just different since I'm not actually going through them." Hera shrugged.

"True." Hannah admitted. "While the things we go through are crazy, they're just funny stories once everything's said and done. Speaking of stories…"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Rules?" Sable asked right off the bat.

"Nothing to do with pairings, deaths, or anything that could be mentally scarring to the nonloopers." Mike announced from next to her.

"And nothing too embarrassing," Hannah added on.

["Aw man…"] The looping Chopper, having decided to go by Omi, whirred disappointedly.

"Who's starting?" Mike settled back into his seat with a raised eyebrow.

"Obviously not you, since you always wait until we're done saying ours before saying something that blows them both out of the water." Sable rolled her eyes.

"Exactly."

"I'll start," Hannah hummed thoughtfully. "How about… Fans?" There was a flinch from Mike.

"Oh yeah, I've got this in the bag…" He muttered.

Sable rolled her eyes. "Fans? I've got one. In one loop, I was a princess."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_"Your majesty!"_

_"Princess Sabine!"_

_"Sign this law please!"_

_"Please help me!"_

_"Your highness!"_

_"What do you think about-"_

_"Who do you plan on being engaged to-"_

_"Has anyone proposed yet?!"_

_"Princess!"_

_"MARRY ME OH MY GOSH!"_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"And?" The nonloopers looked at her curiously.

"I was an _unmarried_ princess and therefore everyone was bent on getting on my good side to either hook me up to someone or marry me themselves. I ended up going 'rogue royalty' on them and then I _still_ ended up with my own crazy group of fans because it's apparently something everyone thinks is cool or something…" Sable grumbled.

"Royalty suckups, I hate those ones." Mike nodded sympathetically.

"I have one way better," Hannah smirked. "Popstar."

"When was this loop?" Mike snickered.

"I'm not sure, that loop was confusing… I think there was a stealth anchor." Hannah shrugged. "But the _paparazzi_ … They wouldn't leave me alone!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" The screams and cheers rattled the window._

_Hera shut it with a sigh._

_"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" The muffled screams continued._

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Alright Mike, go for it." Sable leaned back expectantly.

"You guys remember the Avengers' loop, right?" Mike ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, sometimes their timelines don't actually extend to the 'Avengers' part." Hannah shrugged. "I was Hawkeye."

"Yeah, well, this was one of those weird loops with that situation." Mike sank into his seat. "I was Tony Stark."

"Oh." Sable's eyes widened.

"And for some reason I'd looped in as a weird mix between Bruce and Tony." He buried his face in his hands.

"Owch." Hannah visibly flinched.

"And Tony himself replaced Hulk."

"Oh my." Sable held a hand over her mouth to hide her smirk.

"So yeah, not only was there the usual public insanity over Tony Stark, but I was bothered a ton because I'd been seen yelling at Tony and forgetting to think it." He groaned. "Of all the people to get stuck in my head, it had to be _him_."

"I thought you practically idolized him for the technology he created?" Hannah raised an amused eyebrow.

"That does NOT mean I want him stuck in my head. Do you have any idea how many languages he cusses in? More than Zeb…"

Hannah and Sable burst into laughter while the nonloopers just scratched their heads.

* * *

 **13.3** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra Awoke in a soundless area with no form of light or substance around him. Curiously poking out with the force, he realized that he didn't even have a form of his _own_.

Reaching out telepathically his hypothetical eyes popped out of his hypothetical head.

_'Oh you've GOT to be kidding me.'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

An Unawake Ezra blinked and looked around curiously. He shook his head and shrugged.

His attention was quickly caught by two guys down on the streets…

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra connected subtly to his Unawake self's senses, only to be bombarded by adrenaline. Recognizing the situation through hurried images he made a mental grin.

_'Duck.'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra ducked the fist coming his way with wide eyes. Zooming away on the speeder he'd stolen he shook his head.

_'No worries, you're not crazy. Yes you're hearing voices, well, **a** voice, but you're not crazy.'_

"Who..?! Who's there?!" He nearly shook his head but had to focus on the chase going on around him.

_'If you want to talk to me all you have to do is think it. And swerve to the left real quick.'_

Following the voice's directions Ezra ended up getting away relatively unscathed.

_'Who are you? Why are you helping me? Why are you **in my HEAD**?!'_

_'Not important, because it's something fun and productive to do, and I have no idea.'_

Ezra processed that for a second. _'You… don't know how you ended up in my head?'_

_'Nope.'_

"Well this is just great…" He groaned, forgetting to think it. _'Okay, so, we can't exactly be arguing over this right now because I'm kind of in the middle of something. We'll be having a **talk** about this later, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.'_

_'Fine by me. I'll keep giving you advice and stuff because I have nothing else to do. That okay?'_

_'I guess..?'_

_'Good, cause… wait for it… look up.'_

Ezra looked up.

"Oh come on!"

* * *

 **13.4** (McRai thePrinx's)

"I I I I've had the time of my li-i-ife! And I've never felt this way before-ore!" Ezra sang loudly and purposefully off tune. "And I swe-ear, this is tru-u-ue! And I owe it all to you!"

Kanan was too busy snickering, while the rest of the crew (UnAwake) were just watching with wide eyes.

Ezra threw down the microphone with a smirk and turned around. He jumped off the table and walked out smoothly.

"…What the heck was that?"

Kanan lost it and burst into hysterical laughter.

* * *

 **13.5** (McRai thePrinx's)

"No Ezra." Kanan shuddered when he looked out the window and saw the snow. "No no no _no_."

"Oh come on Kanan!" Ezra shook his head. "You're going to have to get over it someday."

"If I have anything to do with it, 'someday' will be very, very far away." Kanan shivered.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have cryophobia?"

"If that means a fear of cold, then yes." Kanan took a drink of his cider. "This is good," He looked at it appreciatingly.

"Yeah, Mac makes the best." The purple creature in front of him nodded. "But I'm more interested in your phobia right now. Do you know how it started?"

Kanan, currently in a similar form as the creature, sighed. "It's… kind of stupid. No, _really_ stupid. It was a game loop, with snow sledding."

"Owch, I can see where this is going…" Twilight flinched sympathetically.

"Do you ever get the feeling that the universe is using you as a running gag?" Kanan slumped against the table, hoof holding onto his mug. "I swear, that's my life in the loops. I was dead last, crashed a minimum of fifty times, and everybody hit me when passing, then threw a snowball at me… I was horrified to learn that I literally _had_ to finish the race. I'd blink and be back in my sled on the slope and going again." Kanan shuddered. "The cold I ended up with lasted to the next loop."

"That… isn't that stupid." The purple alicorn shrugged. "I had a fear of snakes, for _no_ reason. It's likely with you that it started as a small fear slash hatred and then developed into a full blown phobia."

"…Yeah, I think that is what happened." Kanan blinked and lifted his head. With a frown he prodded at the master padawan bond. _|"Ezra, should I be worried that you feel more hysterical than the time you put the Inquisitor in a compressed time loop within our loop?"|_

 _|"NO. Everything's fine! Just… Just hold on a sec!"|_ There were snickers and cackles from Ezra.

"Wait a minute…" Kanan's eyes widened right as Pinkie Pie burst into the bar.

"Oh my gosh! I forgot to give you your 'Yay You're a Prince and Not Freaking Out Over Being a Pony Anymore' party!" She blew a noise maker in his face with a wide grin.

Kanan just blinked owlishly at her. "Pinkie, you already gave me that. Just… split into two different ones."

"Just go with it, she gets kind of…" Twilight paused. "Dedicated if ponies don't go to her parties."

Kanan sighed. "Ezra, I'll get you back for this you know that right?"

Ezra, who'd been hiding behind Pinkie, stuck his head out with a grin. "Oh I know. But it's worth it after your reaction the first time you looped here."

"See?" Kanan waved his hoof at his padawan with a look at Twilight.

"I think so." She giggled. "Come on, we might as well go to the party. Pinkie's parties are always worth it."

"Yay!" Pinkie bolted out babbling about party favors and frosting.

* * *

 **13.6** (McRai thePrinx's)

Kallus Awoke as usual sitting down at his desk. As usual, he pretended to shuffle a few datapads as he skimmed through his loop memories. And, like always, he felt incredible disgust over the things his NonAwake self did.

It seemed he had Awoken later in the loop than he normally did, which was interesting. He looped rarely compared to the other loopers so he didn't have as much variation.

A few minutes later there was a buzz and he had to argue with a cadet over podracer parts. Seriously, what did he need _podracer_ parts for? Suddenly he blinked and remembered something Ezra had told him.

He facepalmed and turned around.

"You could have just asked." He raised an eyebrow to the Anchor, who had stuck his head out of the vent curiously at his words.

"Oh hey, you Awake?"

"Would I say that if I weren't?" He nodded.

"Oh. Then mind deactivating the security? And maybe helping us out with something?"

"I don't have anything better to do this loop." He shrugged.

"…What?" Zare gaped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 13.1: Poor Ezra and his solo loops. :( You guys wanted to see a little more of these, though it's not much.
> 
> 13.2: 7.2 continued. It's always a 50/50 over whether NonAwake Hera is the chill mom who rolls with the weirdness or the spazz who is (rightfully) constantly terrified for her children's lives. *coughbirdmomandsquaremomcough*
> 
> 13.3: Okay this was inspired by something similar happening to Twilight in MLP Loops. Again, the IDEA was from there but this story is not connected to any other story WHATSOEVER. Again, Mike trolling Ezra. :3
> 
> 13.4: Ezra likes music. ^^
> 
> 13.5: Felt like Kanan needed a little encouragement dealing with his phobia as it grows more serious... Okay and again yes I added MLP but I was itching to do another pony!Kanan loop and it just happened. Twilight actually did have a phobia of snakes in baseline.
> 
> 13.6: Kallus gets bored easily.


	14. TCAoaTTP 14

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**14.1** (McRai thePrinx's)

"EZRAAAAA!"

"KANAAAAAN!" There was silence. "What? He said my name first."

The human looked down on the three small creatures in annoyance. "This loop is already giving me a headache."

"Why am I the 'cute one'?" Hera asked curiously. "Wouldn't I work better as the 'smart one'?"

"I know chemical compounds like nobody's business." Sabine examined her claws proudly. "Comes with the art."

"Wait a second…" Ezra finally looked over his new body with a look of growing humor. "Are we those creatures that…?"

"From the 'you have to make a connection' lesson? Yes." Kanan crossed his arms.

"Still don't know what they're called…" Ezra mumbled as he flicked his ears amusedly.

"Give it a break Ezra."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"So you're telling me we've gone from being famous singers, to repeating time over and over, to rebels against a tyrannical empire?" Simon, currently human, tilted his head.

"…I would say something about that but really from the right point of view _none_ of that makes sense." Zeb facepalmed.

["Is this your guys' first fused loop? That would explain your confusion."] Chopper whirled.

"It's _their_ first fused loop, I've already had a few because I'm the _awesome_ one." Alvin smirked. "Which the guy I'm replacing must be because I can't do something as uncool as looping into the place of a nonawesome person."

"Suddenly I see why he's replacing Ezra…" Zeb growled to Dave.

"Hey guys?" Said human looked around worriedly. "Did anyone see where Theodore went off to?"

Everyone fell over as the ship apparently did a barrel roll.

"Hey guys!" A familiar, but nonsqueaky, voice came over the intercom. "I can fly a ship! YAY!"

["Okay, that was just too cute."] Chopper beeped hysterically.

* * *

**14.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra looked at the lightsaber in confusion.

_'Right, this, yeah I don't know what to tell you here…'_ The voice muttered rebelliously.

_'What do you mean?! Wasn't it you who led me here?!'_ Ezra made sure to think his reply.

_'Sorry, nope. That happens in baseline too.'_

_'What?'_

_'Nothing.'_

_'Stop doing that!'_

_'Doing what?'_

_'Saying something that doesn't make sense and not explaining it!'_

_'Turn around real quick.'_

Ezra, by now knowing the voice's advice was always useful, whirled around to see the man with the shoulderguard standing in the doorway.

"Out." He glared at him.

"It's a lightsaber," Ezra ignored that comment. "Isn't that the weapon of the jedi?"

_'Ding ding ding.'_ The voice said almost boredly. Ezra held in a shiver, he'd already figured out that the voice being bored was usually a bad thing.

The man didn't answer, just held out his hand.

"Look, I know you're not going to believe me, but…" Ezra trailed off as the voice started speaking.

_'Say that and he's DEFINITELY not going to believe you.'_

_'What else am I supposed to say? I got lost looking for the bathroom?'_

_'Well it sounds more sane…'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_'Told you he wouldn't believe it.'_

_'Oh shut up.'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Stupid stupid voice!" Ezra yelped as he dodged another stormtrooper. "Why am I listening to a voice in the back of my head?!"

_'Because you know you'd have done it anyway without my urging! Duck, down left!'_

Ezra followed the instructions and cursed as the blast nearly singed him.

"WHY DID I DO THIS?!"

_'Because because! Jump to the right!'_

"THAT MAKES NO SENSE! And now I'm running through an imperial ship abandoned by the crazy people who brought me here and yelling at a voice in my head!" Ezra's yells took on a slightly hysterical tone. "WHY?!"

_'Can't tell you that one, sorry. I know a lot of things but I'm not omnipotent. Oh… oh dear. Stop or you'll run face first into something **very** hard.'_

Ezra skidded to a stop right as a sheet of metal slammed down across the hallway.

"You got me caught!"

_'I saved you a broken nose.'_ The voice countered.

"You know all this other stuff, why didn't you know that was about to happen?"

_'Because the first time I got caught right once Zeb left and didn't get a chance to run and after that I just avoided that situation all together.'_ The voice was silent as Ezra blinked. _'Oh karrabast, I didn't mean to say that.'_

"Wait a second…" Ezra switched to thinking. _'What do you mean?'_

_'Uh… Well, hello, younger me. I'm you. But, you know, stuck in a time loop.'_

_'…What?'_

_'…Let's just go with the 'I'm you from an alternate future' thing for now, okay? That's actually mostly true anyways.'_

Ezra sat down numbly. _'…?'_

_'Okay, listen up, just relax and calm down okay? Hold on a sec, I just remembered something. Remember that cube thing you snatched? Take it out real quick.'_

_'…Huh?'_

_'Okay, I guess I need to slow down… Sorry, we don't have time for me to explain. Just trust me and I can tell you later. But for now, the holocube's gotta get opened. And right now is the only time you have to do that.'_

_'…'_

_'It's detrimental for the sake of your sanity and later abilities.'_

_'…I… Okay..?'_

_'Good. Now listen carefully to me…'_

* * *

**14.3** (McRai thePrinx's)

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for two minutes.

He turned around.

He left the room.

"Ezra! What have I told you about mutating eggbombs?"

* * *

**14.4** (McRai thePrinx's)

Kallus parried a blow and pushed the lasat back a few feet.

He restrained a sigh.

It just wasn't the same fighting an Unawake Zeb, the looper could always give him a good spar at any time. Not to mention Sabine was all too eager to call out advice from the sidelines.

This loop only him and Ezra were Awake, meaning he was bored out of his mind.

"Ah!" Zeb stared at him fearfully as he clutched at his hand and he blinked. When had he disarmed him..?

"…Oh screw this loop." Kallus grunted. "Ez, got a Yoyo?"

The Anchor shrugged and tossed him a familiar artifact. "I thought I gave you one last loop?"

"It got broken." Kallus caught it effortlessly. "I'll be anti-corrupting Empirical persons of import." He started walking back to a ship he'd learned how to fly one loop. "See you next loop since I'll likely be executed." He waved behind him boredly.

"Kay, you need hobbies that aren't so deadly you know that right?"

"Says the Anchor." Kallus shot back.

"Touche."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"What was that back there?" Kanan demanded as soon as they were all safe back on the Ghost.

"What? Never seen a time looper?" Ezra effortlessly sent a mental packet he'd had prepared for NonAwake Kanan the time he'd gotten bored of telling him repeatedly.

"I…" Kanan's eyes bulged out of his head. "…Huh..?"

"Kallus is looping too, he's probably just bored out of his mind since Zeb usually spars with him when he's Awake. I'm betting the boredom got to him."

"What?" Everyone stared at him.

"Dangit, I hate it when I have to explain this… again…" Ezra rubbed his forehead. "This is so much easier when I have LOKI helping…" The AI had left to go help Kallus get around without having his usual authority.

The Agent was very likely having the time of his life being able to let loose for once.

"Ezra… what are you talking about?" Hera's voice showed she clearly thought he had snapped. "And what did you do to Kanan?" Said Jedi was staring at nothing with wide eyes as his brain processed what Ezra had sent.

"Kanan's just trying to understand the mental packet I sent to him over the bond." Ezra waved her concerns off. "And time loops are what I'm talking about. Time's repeating over and over again. Not all people are looping and not everyone remembers at once… Like this time it's just me and Kallus." Ezra shrugged. "The loop he started looping in was weird… He was a good guy, for one."

"Ezra?" Kanan's voice was shaky.

"Yeah, master?"

"Why are… you're… but it's…" Kanan fell into a nearby chair bonelessly. "I…"

"Calm down." Ezra grinned amusedly. "I'm still me, just… older. Technically, of course."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Oh hey…" Ezra clicked on his private inbox on his tablet. He looked at the image and the caption for a few seconds before falling backwards laughing.

"Ezra?" Kanan looked at him curiously. By now he'd gotten partially used to the strange things about his 'time looping' padawan.

"Kallus!" He cackled manically. "He just… He just frickin pranked..!" Ezra just couldn't speak anymore.

Kanan picked up Ezra's tablet with a raised eyebrow and choked on air when he saw the picture.

The caption read:

{"I have pranked an entire Star Destroyer full of stormtroopers and some of the more important figures in the Empire. I am officially a looper. I also think I've been around LOKI and Sabine too much."}

* * *

**14.5** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra landed harshly and jumped up again.

"I frickin hate this loop!" He groaned when he ended up shot in the shoulder. "Why does this happen to _me_ …"

Ezra ducked a shot from another cadet and flipped up a platform. This loop his abilities were reduced to baseline level. It was taking him forever to compensate inside of battle situations!

"Morgan is not as promising as he appeared at first." The bigger assistant that Ezra could never remember his name said with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, but Agent Kallus was quite insistent that he be allowed to continue despite a lacking performance." The creepy pale guy with a really strong British accent (who Ezra also could never remember the name of) said with disapproval clear in his voice.

And then they blinked and Ezra was climbing over the top with two other cadets right on his heels.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"How'd you pull that off?" The ISB Agent asked the Anchor curiously.

"I just let the Force guide me." Ezra grinned. "Mostly. Kind of. Sort of. Barely. Baseline abilities used in sync with how I realized I'd accidentally memorized those stupid courses."

Kallus's eyebrows rose. "…Cool."

"I know right?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"By the way, here's that chip. Don't worry, the security's been shut down permanently. In a way that nobody will know until it's too late."

"…Sweet. You've been hanging around me too much."

"And Sabine."

"True."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan blinked as he came back to… something.

"Oh hey, mind if he tags along? He got hit pretty bad in the head when I was escaping and then he helped me get out." Ezra smiled innocently as Zeb grumbled darkly in the background

Kallus, with a heavy bandage around his head that was obviously bleeding through despite how many there were, looked at him interestedly. And completely innocently. Like a puppy.

Kanan did the only thing he could think of and facepalmed.

* * *

**14.6** (McRai thePrinx's)

"You-"

Kanan sighed as music played as soon as he spoke.

"Yes master?" Kanan just knew Ezra had something to do with it, an innocent act _that_ innocent was up to something.

"You have to-"

Music played.

He sighed.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Are you kidding me?" Ezra looked at the Connector toys in disbelief.

"Gotcha." Kanan grinned, revealing he was Awake through the bond.

"Oh you're getting good."

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"?taht ekil gnikaeps uoy era yhW ?nanaK"

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

Kanan yelped as the creature launched itself at his face, only to be completely baffled when it proceeded to purr and lick his nose.

Ezra, having no idea what was going on, laughed his butt off and just rolled with it.

* * *

"You-" Kanan didn't bother finishing as he Awoke midsentence. "I am having a vacation loop and I am going somewhere tropical and warm."

Without even pausing the jedi pulled a wand from his subspace pocket and apparated to somewhere Ezra didn't feel like checking for.

_|"Have fun."|_ He sent.

_|"I'll send a postcard."|_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra blinked and couldn't help but smile.

There was a picture of Kanan snoring on a beach chair along with the postcard that had been magically delivered to him.

_"The locals have been 'learning' from me, they took this while I was taking a nap."_

The postcard itself was a picture of Kanan falling off said chair mid-scream, covered in ice and a bucket visible in the upper corner.

"Ah, the ice bucket." Ezra chuckled. "Classic."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 14.1: Crossover! So I actually learned quite a while back that the cat creatures are called Lothcats. However for the sake of a running gag the loopers remain unaware.
> 
> 14.2: They see me trollin~ They HATIN~ Mike has alternated between giving Ezra legitimate advice and singing nonsensical songs to annoy him.
> 
> 14.3: "But I'm not even sure how it happened this time!" You'd be surprised how often this happens.
> 
> 14.4: Kallus's boredom ends in him doing some suicide attack or prank against the Empire at least one in every three loops. Ezra's right: he really DOES need a hobby that's not so deadly. The weapons thing is helping but not very much. Especially when Zeb's not looping to keep him entertained in spars. The prank involved pink and ribbons. Lots and lots of ribbons.
> 
> 14.5: Sometimes the loops will limit the loopers' abilities and, considering they've had millenia to advance them, getting downsized usually takes a little getting used to. The loopers have a lot of fun making friends with the looping Kallus and managing to trick the nonloopers into at least playing nice with him.
> 
> 14.6: Kanan's misery is officially my favorite running gag. The poor guy.


	15. TCAoaTTP 15

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**15.1** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra coughed as he tried to talk.

_'Wait, am I actually mute this loop?'_ The Anchor grinned. _'Oh this is gonna be fun.'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Wait, what?" Kanan blinked as Ezra hadn't even reacted to the usual signal.

The boy looked at him blankly, hands suddenly moving in what appeared to be universal sign language. _Do I know you?_

"I have no idea what you're saying." Kanan admitted, the boy rolling his eyes. "But I have a friend who probably will, not sure if she knows USL though…" Actually he knew for a fact that both Sabine and Zeb knew the language when looping. Since only Hera was looping, that was a bit of a problem.

Apparently Ezra _wasn't_ looping though. The teenager barely so much as twitched when Kanan casually poked him through the bond.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Do you think there's a stealth Anchor?" The twi'lek asked him.

"Maybe. All I know is Ezra's not Awake. Heck, there might be an Anchor somewhere on the other side of the galaxy and we just don't know. The ping might just have not reached them yet." Kanan shrugged.

"So we get the privilege of messing with a NonAwake Ezra." Hera grinned. "Though something about the whole mute thing sounds vaguely familiar…"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan blinked and looked at Chopper suspiciously. The astromech had been acting oddly and the Jedi had the sinking suspicion that he was secretly Awake. But that didn't make any sense, since he didn't emit his usual soul signature.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"E-Z-R-A, B-R-I-D-G-E-R," Sabine said as she watched the mute kid sign out the letters to his name. The nonlooping Mandolorian had luckily known how to speak USL.

"Well, Ezra," Kanan began but then paused as he began to sign rapidly.

"He's asking if he can join." Sabine looked at him amusedly. Ezra clapped to get her attention and then signed some more. "I think we should give him a shot, to be honest. He's saying he won't be a burden." She added on as an afterthought when she received a slight glare.

Kanan was going to ask him to join anyways. Ezra, Awake or not, was always a good addition to the team. "…Sure, why not." He shook his head as Ezra fistpumped silently.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan's eyebrows rose as he saw a bowl float by. "…What?"

Hera was sitting at the kitchen table amusedly as Ezra bobbed his head to music playing in his earbuds. He was doing dishes and apparently absentmindedly using the Force to float things around the room.

_|"You're Awake aren't you."|_ Kanan deadpanned through the bond, curtaining it so Hera didn't notice.

_|"…Dangit. To be fair, I actually **am** mute this loop. How's Hera's reaction?"|_

_|"Hasn't realized you're likely Awake. At this point it looks like you don't even realize what you're doing. Good thing her last Jedi loop was a while back, otherwise she'd know that having this much fine control over the Force while untrained is pretty much impossible."|_ Kanan raised an eyebrow at Hera, as if asking what was going on.

"I came in a few minutes ago." She snickered. "He hasn't even noticed I'm here."

_|"Not true~"|_ Ezra sang through the bond. Kanan made sure his snicker was only mental and didn't show in his expression.

_|"Want an accomplice?"|_

_|"Please."|_

_|"Alright, so, you have something to do with Chopper right?"|_

_|"Absolutely. He's letting LOKI use him as a body right now and no, before LOKI filled him in he wasn't Awake. He's still technically not Awake."|_

_|"Makes sense. Now, we have to make this look convincing…"|_

Jedi master padawan bonds were so useful. Not only did they provide an easy, unhackable means of communication, but they made pulling pranks so much easier.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

As the loop ended, Ezra turned to Kanan with a conspiratorial grin.

"Go ahead." Kanan crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair with a similar grin.

_|"Sup Hera."|_

"Why you little-"

* * *

**15.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

"Happy birthday me." Ezra hummed and tapped a few buttons on his tablet. "Now, if only I could convince this version of Sabine to leave me alone…"

It was probably one of the weirdest variants he went through, where Sabine was the one with a crush on him instead of the other way around. While he'd been entertained at first once he started dating her looping self it got awkward. Very, very awkward.

As in, him hiding out in his tower the entire loop awkward.

NonAwake Kanan was almost always sympathetic and usually helped him get out of the situation. Awake Kanan, not so much. He found it absolutely hilarious and Ezra would swear he'd smelled popcorn whenever things started to get really dramatic.

So Ezra had decided to do his usual and hide out in his tower… Until Sabine apparently got 'dedicated' and he remembered that she knew where his tower WAS.

So now he was on a transporter trying to get out of dodge.

"Whatcha doin' there kid?" Ezra blinked and looked to his right where someone had sat down a little bit ago. He blinked again and held back a snort.

"Nothing much." He told Lando casually. While this guy came up pretty much every loop, Ezra hadn't run into him outside of certain events. This could lead to something interesting for this loop…

"Oh? I'm pretty sure I saw something." His eyes glinted slightly.

"Really?" Ezra raised an eyebrow. "And who are you to see it?"

"Lando Calrissian. You?"

"Ezra." He gave a smug look when Lando looked interested that he hadn't given his last name. "Only either someone incredibly confident or ridiculously stupid would give their full name to a complete stranger."

Lando laughed. "I like you kid, you've got spunk." Ezra grinned. "So what _are_ you doing?"

"Stuff." Ezra thought over possibilities as Lando snorted. Really, there wasn't much of a point. But Ezra had been getting bored the past few loops so he turned the tablet to him with a smirk to reveal several codes. "What do you know about Blue Time Corporations?"

Like magic his eyebrows shot up. "BT Corps? You're talking about one of the most revolutionary tech and programming companies, exclusive to only certain buyers. Those buyers are under strict guidelines to not share. The Empire would kill to get their paws on some of that stuff and other people too." He narrowed his eyes. "What would a kid like you know about BT Corps?"

Ezra snorted. "This 'kid' is the owner and the one that creates everything."

Cue jaw drop. "…You're kidding."

"Nope." Ezra popped the p as he casually checked that the privacy spell he'd cast was still intact.

"Why tell me?" Lando visibly put aside his shock for curiosity.

"Boredom." Ezra admitted with a shrug. "The fact that I'm the only person who knows. Kind of grates on you after a while, ya know?"

"No, but I can imagine." Lando was obviously shifting from the surprised phase to amused disbelief.

"You want some proof?" Ezra smiled.

"That would be nice."

Ezra clicked a few things on his tablet and then flipped it towards Lando.

Cue second jaw drop.

"Believe me?"

"I want in."

"That was my point."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A few weeks later Ezra was thoroughly amused and… actually, learning quite a lot about business that he'd missed. He preferred sending middle men. With Lando acting as his 'manager' he had to get involved personally a lot of the time.

Though it did take a while to get him to stop risking so much. Gambling and taking risks in general didn't bother Ezra, it was the sheer _amount_ that Lando took on a daily basis.

There was a slight issue at first with that since Lando didn't see any problem with it. But a conversation where Ezra revealed the loops in frustration convinced him that Ezra actually just wanted him to tame it down instead of stopping like everyone else was always getting onto his case to do.

Out of everyone possible, Ezra knew that risks could be taken. He was a looper for crying out loud! Risks were often a part of everything he did. Not to mention he was (usually) a part of a rebel crew. That involved a LOT of risks.

At the same time, he knew there had to be a limit to how many risks a person takes.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Hey kid!" Lando came through the door with a grin. "Remember how you told me what happens in baseline where I'm involved?"

"Don't tell me," Ezra deadpanned.

"Yup. Met your bud Zeb. Won that droid off him." His grin widened. "Gave the droid back."

"No." Ezra raised an eyebrow.

"In exchange for a favor at an unappointed time." Lando shrugged admittingly.

"Ah, it comes out." Ezra grinned.

"Hey, you're the time traveler guy." Lando smirked. "You're also the reason I haven't gotten another bounty on my head for… What, three months now?"

"And a half." Ezra snickered.

"Exactly. I figured I could cut your friend some slack."

"Thanks, Lando."

"No problem kid."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_|"Ezra?"|_

_|"Yeah Kanan?"|_

_|"I just heard from a source that Lando Calrissian is the manager of the BT Corps owner."|_

_|"…Yyyyeah…"|_

_|"…Just be careful."|_ Kanan's voice was more than amused.

_|"Of course. When have I not been?"|_

_|"Well…"|_

_|"Don't answer that."|_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"The loop's bound to end sooner or later…" Ezra pointed out. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to _try_ and play nice with your Nonlooping counterparts but it's _probably_ not going to go well."

"Eh, I know how I am." Lando snorted. "Just do the same thing you did with me and you should be good."

"I won't be able to do the same thing every time, not to mention that would get boring pretty fast," Ezra shrugged. "But I'll try. Maybe try finding a way to do it without revealing the loops…"

"I don't know how that'd work, but if anyone could it would be you." Lando smirked.

"Damn right."

* * *

**15.3** (McRai thePrinx's)

The nonlooping Zeb gaped as his Awake counterpart phased through a metal wall.

"Oh, hey." The looper couldn't quite restrain a smirk. "Finally found you guys."

"Having fun?" Mike snarked, turning his tablet so everyone could see the headlines screaming about a metal monster destroying Imperial ships.

"Yeah…" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "My last loop was kind of a bad one. I needed some stress relief."

"Ah." All the loopers nodded in understanding.

"Since when-" Zeb twitched. "You, how?! What?!"

"We can keep certain abilities from other loops." Sable shrugged. "Like me, I kept chakra and ninjutsu from Naruto's loop."

"They don't know what chakra is." Hannah reminded her.

"Kind of a more physical version of the Force, except the ability to use it is a lot more widespread and generally anyone has a possibility of using it." Mike shrugged. "Hey, you need a name so you don't get mixed up with your nonlooper counterpart." He reminded Zeb.

"Do I have to?" He whined. "The loops never give me normal names. I don't have anything to go off of."

"Too bad." Sable shrugged. "You'll have to come up with _something_."

"Fine. I'll think of something." He grumbled. "Oh yeah, Yoyo's taking this as a vacation loop."

"I thought he would," Mike hummed. "What _kind_ of vacation loop?"

"Actual vacation. Think he was heading for Naboo."

"What?" Kanan turned to Hannah for explanations.

"Yoyo is another looper, and we're not giving his name because reasons. Vacation loops are kind of varied. You've got ones where we don't pay attention to baseline and completely change the timeline, vacation loops where we spend the whole loop pranking the Empire in increasingly humiliating and humorous ways, and actual vacation loops where we typically spend the whole time on a beach." She shrugged at their surprise. "Well we don't _all_ take actual vacation loops, at the least there's one of us making sure the Empire's not getting out of hand."

"Outside of the times other loopers loop in and we get to kick back and watch as the fireworks fly." Mike smirked.

"Hah! Yeah I remember the time Naruto came here." Sable looked into the distance dreamily. "The colors…"

"And the _blast radius_." Mike whistled.

"He punched a ship in half." Looping Zeb grinned. "That was a great one."

"How do you punch a ship in half?" Ezra whispered to Kanan with wide eyes.

"I don't even want to know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 15.1: HEY GUYS DO YOU REMEMBER 2.3 IN ONE OF THE EARLIER CHAPTERS :D Ezra is such a troll. Honestly I'm not even sure what I've done to his character anymore. Typically they can sense through the extended Master-Padawan bond to see if anyone is Awake like how they learned about Zeb, but first Kanan and then Ezra learned how to mask their 'aged' feel to pretend they weren't Awake. It has a few practical uses but it's mostly used for pranks.
> 
> 15.2: I feel like Looping Ezra would have such an awesome friendship with Lando. The kind of friendship where they get chased after by bounty hunters and blow things up all while relaxing and sipping fruity drinks out of fancy glasses and bendy straws.
> 
> 15.3: 7.2 continued. In case you were wondering what Zeb was up to. Yes, Yoyo is Kallus. Kallus doesn't care that his code name is so ridiculous because honestly he really REALLY likes the Ying Yang Yoyo and Ezra has to keep supplying him with extras because he keeps breaking/losing them.


	16. TCAoaTTP 16

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**16.1** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra Awoke to a controller in his hands and a large man glaring him down. Judging by the vague feelings of smugness left from before he Awoke and the bewildered/angry look on the man's face he'd been pulling a hustle.

One glance downwards at the robot massacre going on in the small arena - and the realization that his current body had muscle memories so well he hadn't even noticed that he was controlling the remote - and he had a better idea of the loop.

_'Wait just one second… Why is my body a wimpy noodle?'_ Only his experience hid the quakes of fear. Why the heck was his PreAwakening-self hustling violent backstreet gamblers when he probably couldn't jog around a block without falling on his face?!

Immersing himself in loop memories, Ezra's eyes widened when he got an idea of just how intelligent the person he was replacing was.

"Sorry about this," He said just as he directed Megabot to go for a clean kill and destroy the bot's head. "Hey, you know what? Keep the money. I really just needed to test drive my new bot." Ezra schemed fast to try and save his hide without resorting to using any powers. Looking at the angry man in front of him he could tell Yama wasn't buying it. "Um, I'm really REALLY sorry?" He grinned sheepishly and backed away from the arena.

"Nobody hustles Yama!" The fat man yelled.

Ezra was about to bolt when there was the sound of an engine revving.

"Hiro, get on!" The young man who'd just skidded in on the moped blinked oddly at Ezra before shaking his head.

"Thanks!" Ezra didn't think, trusting his loop memories giving him a good feeling about this guy and the Force vibrating pleasantly around him, and jumped on behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Ezra gasped as the breath was knocked out of him by the rough ride.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine!" Ezra called Megabot back with the remote, though barely hanging on. That type of tech was advanced even in his home loop! He was _so_ going to be examining it in detail later.

"Then who are you?! You're not my brother!" The young man was too busy driving like a maniac to look back but Ezra could already feel the NonAwake Hera's patented 'I don't know what's going on and I know it's weird and will probably screw me up but I will still find out so you'd better tell me now' look on his face.

The anchor nearly facepalmed. Only the need to hold on kept him from doing so. He only just now received that certain portion of his loop memories that told him Tadashi Hamada was 'his' brother.

"Oh, are you a looper?"

"Looper?!"

"Time travel." Ezra clarified.

"Yes!" Tadashi chanced a glance back.

"Okay, well, no I'm not your brother. I can explain later." … "…Why are we about to vault over a wall?"

"I set the ramp up earlier because usually if we go any other route than over this wall we get arrested because bot fighting is illegaaaaal!" Tadashi belted out right as they drove up a steep ramp and over a stone wall.

"Tech – oof!" Ezra had the air knocked out of him at the landing. "Stupid noodle body..! Technically bot fighting is perfectly legal, it's only betting that's illegal."

"Yeah, suddenly I see why you're here instead of my brother." Tadashi finally stopped the moped and they both got off. "So, explain."

"Time loops." Ezra nodded. "Do we have a time frame for me to explain? The explanation tends to get really long and I need to know if I should compress it."

"Aunt Cass is at beat poetry night, which usually gets interrupted by having to pick up her nephews from prison." Tadashi folded his arms. Ezra snorted.

"I'm getting a very Kanan feel from you. I like it, feels very homey." Ezra grinned when Tadashi looked at him strangely. "Okay, so, first. Yggdrasil."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_...One explanation backed up with a powerpoint and holographic presentation later..._

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Alright, I told you so you tell me. What's this loop like? Is Hiro the Anchor?"

"No, actually…" Tadashi scratched the back of his head. "My robotics project is."

Ezra blinked. "Huh. Haven't heard of many loops with robots as anchors before. AI?"

"Yeah. Hiro turned what was _supposed_ to be just a healthcare companion into an armored superhero." Tadashi grinned slightly. "The circumstances weren't all that great but I can't say he didn't do a good job."

"Circumstances?"

"I died in a fire the first time."

"Owch."

"Yeah."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Hello, I am Baymax."

Ezra stared at the giant marshmallow robot.

"I was going for a huggable design." Tadashi grinned slightly at him.

"Your physical body is identical to Hiro Hamada but your electroneural signals and eye color indicate that you are not Hiro." The robot pointed a finger in the air.

"Yeah, Hiro doesn't have electric blue eyes. It's how I knew you weren't him."

"You are indicating signs of shock and amusement."

"Pfffffffffffff-"

"Oh come on."

"-fffffffffffffffffffffHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"It's not that funny."

"-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I do not understand how the situation is entertaining."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"I swear if you don't shut up I can and will get you grounded with Aunt Cass. Even if you AREN'T Hiro."

"Haha!" Ezra wiped the tears out from under his eyes with a wide grin. "Oh, ha! Oh gosh, I'm sorry, it's just..! Robots in my loop are made for war, computing, or maintenance. I've _never_ seen a robot that looked like a _friggin MARSHMALLOW..!"_ He couldn't help but start laughing again.

"I do not understand."

"Just... let him get it out of his system Baymax." Tadashi rolled his eyes but frowned in slight worry at the mention of war.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

" _What do you **MEAN** in your loop you're A REBEL AGAINST A GENOCIDAL, RACIST, HYPOCRITICAL EMPIRE?!_"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Walking up to the college where Tadashi (and usually Hiro) went, Ezra tilted his head when Tadashi stopped and frowned.

"What is it?"

"I… I think one of your friends is here. Or, well, I don't remember Gogo having THAT many colors in her hair." Tadashi tilted his head. "Wow, so THIS is what it's like having different loop memories. Weird."

"You haven't had a loop different than baseline yet?" Ezra looked up at him in confusion. Curse his tiny noodle body this loop. How did Hiro deal with it?

"No, Baymax says he has but even Hiro hasn't had very many resets… I mean, loops, yet. I've had even less." He motioned to the red suitcase he was pulling.

"So is it just you three?" They strolled into the lab.

"Nope. Weirdly enough one of our friends started looping before Hiro." Tadashi waved to someone. "Hey, Fred! We finally know what's up with the resets!"

"Resets?" Multiple voices echoed.

"Really?!" Only feeling the human presence under the monster suit that popped up in front of him prevented Ezra from whipping a lightsaber out of his subspace and decapitating it out of reflex. "Woah, what's up with your eyes Hiro?"

" _That's_ Hiro?" A girl popped her head out of an area. Yep, that was a Sabine hairdo alright.

"Sup." Ezra waved. _|"Sorry I didn't ping, had to explain the loops to my 'brother' this loop."|_

_|"It's fine, I don't sense anyone else along the bond anyways."|_

"Sort of. Hold on, let's tell the others." Tadashi nodded.

"You tell the nonloopers?" Ezra looked up in surprise. He was fairly certain he heard a squeak come from Sabine/Gogo about 'cute'.

"Yeah." Tadashi shrugged. "It's usually pretty easy. They're all openly scientifically minded and we can prove it easily most of the time."

"What?" The nonloopers had gathered and seemed to be as curious as they were confused.

"Lucky…" Ezra pouted, solely to hear his girlfriend squeak again. "We can never do that in our loop."

"Stop doing that!" Sabine was stuck between squealing and scolding.

"Doing what?" Innocent eyes.

" _You **know** what you're doing Ezra Bridger._" Uh oh, danger voice…

"So she _is_ one of your friends…" Tadashi hummed and rubbed his chin. "Hey, think you can show the powerpoint to them? I still haven't completely wrapped my mind around the idea of it."

"Sure."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Wait wait wait, how can you expect-"

"Us to believe something so crazy?"

"How-"

"Did you know I was going to say that?"

"Stop-!"

"Saying exactly what I'm going to say?"

"…" Wasabi was about to speak again when Tadashi beat him to it again.

"Alright, we're listening." Tadashi grinned a troller's grin. No other way to put it.

"Does this work every time?" Ezra asked in fascination.

"Nah, sometimes it doesn't because they say something different but I'd say it works, like, ninety percent of the time." Fred drawled. "Their faces are always just as funny as it was the first time." He laughed.

"I bet. That plan would tank miserably in our loop." Ezra chuckled. "Everyone seems to change just a little bit with every loop, even when they're not Awake."

"Stop doing that!" Sabine growled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about~" Ezra smiled innocently.

"UGH." She twitched.

Seeing Tadashi's curious look, Ezra grinned. "In our loop I'm usually a few years older, a heck of a lot taller, and a lot different in general. We're dating."

Tadashi burst into laughter, the nonloopers' eyes just about popped out of their heads, and Fred was looking back and forth between them.

"Hiro..! Sometimes the 'nonAwake' Hiro has..! A crush on Gogo..!" Tadashi cackled.

"Yeah, I'm starting to see why I'm replacing him." Ezra nodded.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hiro had spent the entire time so far as 'Ezra' about to cry. His brother was nowhere to be found, he apparently lived in an abandoned tower all alone, he didn't recognize anything, and there were what appeared to be aliens around every corner. If he weren't so confused he supposed he would have been fascinated by the advanced technology but as it were he spent the entire time freaking out and screaming at everything.

"Hello?" He jumped when a voice echoed around his tower.

"Um, hi?" He poked his head around a corner cautiously.

"Hi there, I'm Kanan Jarrus." The man at first looked surprised but smiled kindly. "Who are you?"

"Hi-" Hiro stopped himself. The weird second set of memories said that wasn't his name. "Ezra Bridger."

Kanan apparently noticed his hesitation. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about time restarting, would you?"

Hiro's eyes widened. "You know about the-!" He shut his mouth. He couldn't trust this guy. He didn't even know him!

"Relax," Kanan chuckled. "Let me explain about the time loops."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Once Hiro had heard everything, he was very relieved to finally have an explanation for the 'resets'.

He was also happy to have the group of people help him out with getting used to their loop. His 'loop memories' had everything but he couldn't seem to feel them as being 'his' memories. Kanan had told him that was probably a good thing, since that could lead to him getting even more confused. Apparently that was something that messed with the minds of 'rookie' loopers a lot.

"This is weird." Hiro announced when Kanan grinned at him.

"No, it's to be expected since you replaced Ezra this loop." Casually walking through the pieces of machinery floating around Kanan stood in front of him. "Any idea how this happened?"

"I wanted to see how it worked." Hiro grinned sheepishly. "I guess I got a little too absorbed into it, because this happened…"

"Well, all I can say is I've never seen anyone _fully_ disassemble a holocube before." Kanan said matter-of-factly. "Now let's see if I can help you put it back together…"

* * *

**16.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

"NOPE." Ezra Awoke and immediately decided that what had just happened during the recent extension of the loop was NOT going to happen again.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan Awoke and immediately decided that he was going to FIX that GLARING hole in the plan that he'd come up with during the recent expansion of their loop.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hera Awoke and immediately began to cuss Kanan's NonAwake self to hell and back because she could NOT believe he'd pulled that _idiotic_ self-sacrificing card!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine and Zeb happened to Awake in the same room and immediately began to scheme of ways to rescue Kanan right away if what happened during the loop's extension happened again.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Chopper Awoke and immediately sent an email.

_BcktPrnkstr: Yoyo tell me you're looping._

_Yoyo'd: Here._

_Yoyo'd: What happened this time?_

Funny how amusement and exasperation can leak through an email.

_BcktPrnkstr: Have you gone through the loops recent expansion yet?_

_Yoyo'd: There's been a new expansion?_

_Yoyo'd: …_

_Yoyo'd: Send me the info._

_BcktPrnkstr: :DATAFILE-EP_CALLTOACTION:_

_Yoyo'd: …_

_Yoyo'd: …So how do we prank the Inquisitor this time?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 16.1: Guess who watched Big Hero 6 what feels like forever ago and needed to do something with it. :) Come on, you can't tell me you guys didn't connect Gogo with Sabine. Hiro is a tiny noodle boy. Ezra is amused and slightly afraid at some of the things he learns the noodle boy does in baseline.
> 
> 16.2: And now you know just how far I was backed up, since this was written when I first heard about the episode Call to Action and what happened during it... There's only two episodes I haven't watched in Rebels, and that is Call to Action and the beginning part of Rebels Resolve. I also haven't watched the newest movie Siege of Lothal yet but I will eventually. (I currently have little cable and purposefully watching something by looking it up on YouTube doesn't really work for me). Time flows on as normal in the loop up until the newest "expansions", or, the new episodes We get. By the end of the episode/expansion the loop resets and they do it all over, this time with the expansion sticking. Thus their loop continues getting longer. Kallus is usually the last to learn about any new expansions. He and Chopper have taken to pranking various figures in the Empire every time an expansion crops up because of the things that tend to happen. Kallus will also give advice on pranking/kicking the ass of his NonAwake self because honestly he is incredibly disturbed and pissed off at the things his NonAwake self does. He can't exactly kick his own ass (despite what many memes will try to convince you) so he leaves that to the other loopers to do it for him and show him pictures.


	17. TCAoaTTP 17

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **17.1** (McRai thePrinx's)

The gathered jedi flinched at the noise that grated at _just the right pitch_ to distract even the most dedicated from their meditation.

"Caleb! Ezra!"

Kanan startled with wide eyes and immediately shadow jumped into the nearest pillar. Ezra, having joined his master in the extremely early timing of the loop, yelped and apparated away just in time.

Luminara rounded the corner to see two kazoos clattering to the stone floors. She frowned heavily. The two newest recruits showed incredible potential, but they would _not stop_ with their pranks and practical jokes. Not to mention they were never actually caught in the act.

Many times, such as this, they had nearly been nearly apprehended only to disappear into thin air. Every jedi in the temple could easily sense that it was them through the Force but they could never actually pin the blame on them!

Luminara turned around and was about to leave when she sensed something strange. She whipped around just in time to see a hand reach out of the very shadows themselves, grab the plastic instruments, and disappear back into the darkness.

Luminara stared. She blinked. She shook her head. Then she massaged her temples to combat her sudden migraine.

* * *

 **17.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra Awoke and immediately started laughing. Next to him, Sabine Awoke and immediately began swearing.

In front of them stood Kanan and Hera, both human for this loop. They were covered in mud and were _very very tiny_. They both looked at their parents in confusion.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Ezra bent over wheezing at Kanan's high pitched voice. Then the words sunk in and he fell over in surprise, already unbalanced. Sabine's swears took it up a notch. She was cycling through several languages and seemed to be reaching Wookie.

"What's-" Hera stopped in the middle of her adorably squeaky question and her eyes widened. "Oh my god." Sabine cleared Wookie with lightning speed and hit Japanese. "Oh my god." Hera proved she'd just Awoken by burying her face in her hands.

Kanan Awoke a few seconds later and started to laugh. "This is funny!"

Ezra wheezed in shock from the floor.

" _I did not need memories of labor THANK YOU VERY MUCH._ " Sabine was into Alagäesian dwarvish now.

* * *

 **17.3** (McRai thePrinx's)

Kallus sighed as he Awoke. Another Awakening, another loop of torture.

He ended up spending three hours going through datapads and reports, getting through them in record time thanks to his experience with the mindnumbing task. Once he was done he technically had four more hours worth of 'free time' but in the Empire such a thing was looked down on from the higher officers. So he took his time walking down to the training grounds.

A quick ping resulted in three responses. He didn't know which ones they were but a quick email to BT Corps would fix that later if it existed. If not, he'd Awoken at a decent time in the loop and he would come across the other loopers eventually. That was as oddity, actually. All the other loopers had general 'set' time periods in which they Awoke but Kallus's was always completely random. The only assurances he had was that he always Awoke behind a desk. Which, quite frankly, was a blessing. He'd heard horror stories about loopers who Awoke while walking or fighting.

Arriving at the training grounds for the stormtroopers he hid the sneer of disdain he desperately wanted to show. What idiot came up with this training regimen? Sure it focused on general stamina and strength, but it lacked any touches in groupwork and the standards for overall accuracy were horrendous.

Not to mention it was entirely uniform. If a stormtrooper were to lose their blaster they'd almost assuredly be doomed. There was _no_ training for unexpected situations.

Kallus was suddenly very very glad that he'd entered the Empire for the ISB position in baseline. He was given _actual_ training instead of this garbage.

"Hmm…" He stroked his chin and a grin slowly came up. "I think I know what I'm doing this loop."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Any idea what Kallus is up to this loop?" Zeb leaned against the wall of their shared quarters, since Sabine wasn't Awake.

"Not really." Ezra shrugged. "He emailed me earlier and said for us to go baseline. I'm not really sure what he's doing but he actually sent an 'evil' smiley emoji."

Zeb's eyebrows rose. "You're kidding. Kallus? Emojis?"

"I know right?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Usually in his loop Kallus would go one of two ways. First, and the one he went 60 percent of the time, was to leave the Empire and do various things. Join the rebels, go solo, prank the Empire, lead The Inquisitor on a goose chase across the galaxy, various other inane and pointless things that held entertainment value. Once he somehow ended up the Governor of a planet on the inner rim. It was fun to have a political loop.

The second way, and the one he went less often because of the stress of it, was to stay in the Empire. Sometimes it was simply for the sake of going baseline. He did try to be less destructive without messing up anything in the timeline in those cases. Other times it was to serve as a mole for the rebel cause, giving them information about the Empire from the inside.

But this time. _This time_ he stayed because he honest to Yggdrasil was having _fun_.

"Quite an effective regime you've constructed, Agent Kallus." The Inquisitor scanned the room of ramrod straight stormtroopers with a rare impressed look.

"Yes, well, I noticed some… _flaws_ within the old system. The Empire is only as strong as its weakest link and I was not going to stand by when our brave troops were being slaughtered because of improper training techniques." At this point Kallus was pretty good at bullshitting.

"So it would seem. Perhaps you would allow me a demonstration?"

Kallus grinned maliciously and the stormtroopers below shivered beneath their armor in terror.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Is it just me, or are these guys actually hitting their marks for once?" Hera winced and tried to put pressure on her shoulder.

"I don't think it's you," Ezra pointed to where Zeb was fighting stormtroopers hand to hand. "Zeb is having _trouble_ bashing their heads in this loop."

"Think Kallus has something to do with it?" Hera hissed slightly when Ezra pressed a bandage to the burn.

"I _know_ he has something to do with it."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Zeb was covered in small cuts and bruises, his fists and knuckles bloody from punching hard armor the whole fight. But he was _grinning_. Very very widely. It was slightly creepy.

"I've never had so much fun beatin up bucketheads! We need to have Kallus do this every loop!" He shifted back and forth on his feet, antsy with leftover adrenaline.

"I'll be sure to tell him." Ezra raised an eyebrow at the wild look in his eyes and backed away a few steps.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_BTHead: Please try to not do this too often._

_BTHead: Zeb is creeping us all out._

_BTHead: He won't stop smiling._

_Yoyo'd: B)_

_BTHead: STOP USING EMOJIS_

_BTHead: IT IS NOT COOL WHEN YOU OF ALL PEOPLE USES EMOJIS_

_Yoyo'd: Fine._

_BTHead: Oh my god you have no idea how much Zeb is freaking us all out._

_BTHead: When's your next "ambush" on us because seriously he needs to get this out of his system._

_Yoyo'd: Tomorrow actually._

_BTHead: What do I need to do to make it today._

_Yoyo'd: Help me realistically 'come across' you on Lothal. Zeb will also have to end our usual dual with me as the very in pain loser because there's no other way I'd get out of the trouble for running an unauthorized patrol._

_Yoyo'd: Not to mention I need more of an incentive._

_BTHead: I have about three crates of neon green eggbombs and you can have LOKI for an entire loop at request._

_Yoyo'd: Pleasure doing business with you Ezra._

* * *

**17.4** (McRai thePrinx's)

Sabine blinked Awake/awake and stretched. _'Hmm, that's nice. I like loops where I physically wake up at the same time I Awake.'_ A quick Force check and glance at her room verified that she wasn't in her loop. She sent out a wide range Ping for loopers, checking the bond for anyone else.

 _|"Sabine."|_ Ezra sounded… pinched.

 _|"What's wrong?"|_ She couldn't help but be worried.

_|"Um… I was checking out the strange power source the loop put inside of me…"|_

As she listened to her boyfriend Sabine had casually gotten out of bed and gone to a nearby mirror to see if she looked the same or if she had replaced anyone. She blinked when she saw black hair. Turning around, she frowned when she saw the certain… armaments on the walls.

_|"Oh no. Ezra, I swear to god if you accidentally released the Kyubi..!"|_

_|"No no no! I just… he's very confused. And so am I. Because LOKI is in my head too, almost like a second creature got sealed in after the Fox."|_

Sabine Wren, currently going by the name of Sabine Mitarashi, quickly started getting dressed. _|"So LOKI's in the cage?"|_

_|"Kind of. It's like an extension. Like someone tried putting in a kitchen counter extension and did it so horribly the entire counter is falling apart."|_

_|"Please tell me the Fox is Awake."|_

_|"Nope. But he's pretty complacent about the whole thing. Apparently while being mind controlled he never got any sleep and he's content to just sleep in the back of my head the whole loop."|_

_|"Well then we're lucky, sometimes dealing with the fox is a right bear."|_

Right about then the others connected to the bond and Ezra filled them in as Sabine left her room.

"Sabine?" The looper turned to see a familiar face from her previous visits to this loop. "You're usually up before now."

"I guess I slept in, I was feeling a little loopy last night." Sabine noticed the lack of response to the code phrase. She sent out a small ping and Anko didn't react to it in the slightest.

She checked her loop memories briefly. Apparently Anko was her older sister this loop. It seemed like the loop was a variant because there was _no way_ that would work out in baseline.

"Well breakfast's fend for yourself, I have to head out for a mission. I'll be gone for a few days. You'll be fine, right?" Anko looked at her as she paused at the door.

"Totally." Sabine waved her off.

Anko shrugged. "Then bye chibi, if you have any parties make sure the booze gets hidden before the brats drink it all."

Sabine straight up cackled once the kunoichi was out the door, having noticed loop memories of just how exactly Anko Mitarashi was _not_ the proper example of a parental figure.

 _|"Oh wow. She's probably the funnest parental figure I've seen in a while."|_ Ezra commented.

 _|"More like **least responsible** ,"|_ Hera hmphed. _|"Sabine, is it alright if we all meet where you are? I have to call in sick and I think Kanan does too?"|_

_|"Yeah, though in a very roundabout way… why do ninja have to do so much **paperwork**? I replaced Kakashi, by the way."|_

_|"Then just leave the paperwork for later, Naruto told me once that Kakashi does that all the time."|_ Sabine suggested. _|"Zeb? Chopper?"|_

 _|"I'm a ROOT agent!"|_ The currently organic droid replied far FAR too cheerfully for comfort.

 _|"I'm going to ignore that."|_ Zeb grumbled. |" _I'm… actually not sure **where** I am right now. Can I get back to you?"|_

 _|"Well I can just skip school."|_ Ezra said matter-of-factly. |" _It's not like it's something my PreAwakening self didn't do. The teachers don't even care. Well, except for Hera, but well… Hera."|_

_|"I'm going to skip the whole 'what does that mean' and take that as a compliment."|_

_|"Good call."|_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_|"So…"|_

_|"Don't even."|_

_|"No, I'm honestly curious here.|"_

_|"Come on guys…"|_

_|"Zeb, just answer the damn question."|_

_|"I don't **wanna**!"|_

_|"ZEB."|_

_|"…"|_

_|"So now, Zeb, answer honestly. Are you or are you not the physical representation of chakra this loop?"|_

_|"…"|_

_|"Well there's our answer."|_

_|"…How is this even **possible?!** "|_

_|"Well our loop has a person who's the physical representation of the dark side of the Force, as far as I'm aware, so if this loop is a fusion and not just us replacing people…"|_

_|"…What?"|_

_|"Uh… spoilers?"|_

_|"Ezra!"|_

_|"Did he just block us?!"|_

_|"Oh he **didn't**."|_

_|"He **did**."|_

_|"Ezra Bridger you are in **so** much trouble!"|_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 17.1: Ezra loops back with Kanan sometimes. They like to screw with the jedi. The return of the kazoos.
> 
> 17.2: Meanwhile Zeb is a droid and Chopper is the universe's shortest lasat.
> 
> 17.3: Kallus gets bored easily. And he's been trying to find things to do that don't end in him dying, Ezra, so get off his damn case already! He and Zeb spar at every chance they get but it's more of a semi-friendly rivalry now.
> 
> 17.4: Sabine rather enjoys the Naruto loop. It was one of her first loops, so she has fond memories and her shinobi/kunoich abilities from that loop are her favorite set of abilities to use.


	18. TCAoaTTP 18

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**18.1** _(Paint the Wolf (Guest))_

"You have to make a-" Kanan's words took a completely different turn as without pause he started yelling. "-MOVE YOUR GĀDHAVAS!" He blinked and scowled.

Ezra couldn't stop laughing. "L-let me guess," He choked out. "Loop ended while you were yelling?" He cackled when Kanan scowled again.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-" Without pause Kanan Awoke and continued talking. "You know what screw teaching let's go watch movies."

"Original trilogy?" Ezra pulled out the boxed set he'd hoarded from the hub loop from his subspace pocket.

"Of course. But can we skip the Anakin goes insane scenes? It's bad enough _knowing_ that it happened."

"Why not."

* * *

**18.1a**    (McRai thePrinx's)

"You have to make a conn-" Oddly cutting off in the middle of a word for once, Kanan blinked and shook his head. "What is up with me Awakening during this lesson?"

Ezra shrugged. "Running gag?"

"I'm _already_ this loop's running gag, Ezra."

* * *

"You have-" Kanan didn't even get to 'make' as a pie sailed towards his head. "What the heck?!" He sputtered through cheesecake.

"Aw, didn't Awake again." Ezra marked down the 153rd attempt in a notepad. Eventually he'd nail his Master right as he Awoke. Eventually.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-" An adult Ezra couldn't hold it in and started laughing.

"Takes a bit to be able to Awake midsentence and keep it going, huh?" A smaller teenage Kanan crossed his arms and smirked slightly.

* * *

"You have to make a HOLY S**T!" Kanan whirled backwards and fell facefirst in an attempt to get away from the horror.

An oddly UnAwake Ezra looked at him like he was insane, not knowing how much was wrong with the scene.

* * *

"You have to make a connection…" Kanan trailed off. "You know, usually I have a different person in front of me during this lesson."

"Sorry?" A bipedal turtle with an orange bandanna around his head said with an apologetic grin. "Name's Mikey. 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle loop."

"Kanan Jarrus, "Star Wars Rebels" loop. Are you your loop's anchor? You seem to be replacing this one's."

"Wait, Star Wars?!" The turtle's eyes practically bugged out of his bandanna. "Ohmygod does this mean I can be a jedi now?! I am so totally gonna prank my bros using the Force when I get back!" He jumped up and down excitedly.

Seeing he was dealing with another looper "cursed to forever be a teenager", as Ezra liked to put it, Kanan smiled. The teenaged loopers were always the funnest in his opinion. "No, you can't." He put on a serious face. "There are rules to using the Force. Responsibilities." The turtle's face fell. "Such as no using the Force for pranks until you're Master level, for safety reasons."

Michelangelo grinned. Kanan did too.

* * *

"You have to make a-" Kanan yawned. "Oh god I'm exhausted…" He fell backwards and let the grass cushion his fall.

"What was your last loop?" Ezra sat down beside his fallen master casually.

"Gurren Lagann." Ezra winced. "I… I don't even know what I was doing but I am _exhausted_ from doing it and I swear my throat feels scratchy even in this loop from all the yelling." Kanan put his arm over his eyes to block out the sun.

"You _do_ sound a little hoarse…" Ezra took a moment to check on Kanan through the bond. "…You're not gonna be able to get back up, are you?"

"Nope. Can't even pull myself to the ship with the Force." Kanan sighed wearily. "That loop just takes _everything you've got_ and then drags out even more."

"I heard Kallus has been real excited about ending up there eventually." Ezra commented as he lifted Kanan up and floated him over to the ship.

Kanan blinked and his head _almost_ managed to lift up. "Oh _hell no_. He and Zeb have been getting ridiculously destructive _already_ with their fights. I am legitimately considering banning them to fighting seriously only on abandoned planets and moons. With those giant robot _things?_ I don't think an abandoned _solar system_ would be enough."

Ezra thought about it for a minute and then winced and agreed. "At least Kamina hasn't made his way through our loop yet. I heard he's worse than Naruto by a _longshot_."

"Yggdrasil help us all…"

* * *

**18.2** (McRai thePrinx's)

Hera barely blinked as she Awoke. She kept the ship on course, trusting her hands to guide it steadily by experience.

Quickly scanning her loop memories she sighed internally while keeping her poker face on.

Of _course_ it was yet again _another loop_ where she and Kanan were together.

Hera sent out a ping, hoping against hope… but narrative casualty didn't work that way. Chopper whirled in from the hallway beeping wildly in hilarity.

["Again! Again! Wonder when it'll get through your guyses thick skulls?!"] He beeped a few more times before spinning and heading out. The other solitary response ping wasn't on the ship and Hera's loop memories said it was at least a month before their usual time picking up Ezra.

"Always just _has_ to come in and tease me in these loops." Hera muttered and rolled her eyes. "Now, how to do this…"

There were several ways to deal with the situation. Hera had tried many many things over the course of the loops but it always came down to Kanan (rightfully) not being able to handle the concept of abandonment. If she left, went on a vacation loop, and let Ezra (or other loopers) handle damage control he would sulk and be hurt because she left. If she was able to let him down easily he'd sulk and be hurt because, well, she _left_. If everything went to hell in a handbasket and she had to reveal the loops to him he'd _understand_ why she left him but he'd still sulk and be hurt because she _had_.

Despite a lack of romantic feelings towards him Hera didn't like hurting Kanan. Especially in a way that usually ended up leaving some pretty deep scars for the loop, even if it wouldn't matter once the loop reset.

She'd heard that her UnAwake self was far easier to deal with from the other end of things. Looping Kanan was unashamed to admit that, yes, he had abandonment issues, and yes it made him a little clingy _normally_ much less if he were in a relationship with someone.

Hera sighed as she checked her options off. Nobody in the crew was Awake other than Chopper and he _never_ helped her out in these situations. It was too long until Ezra would join to help her out and with the mission they were currently on Hera couldn't 'suddenly' make a pitstop on Lothal to speed that up. If she tried to end things right now, it wouldn't make sense to _anyone_.

So when UnAwake Kanan walked into the cockpit with a smile and a soft greeting Hera smiled back and prepared to spend the whole loop acting out a relationship.

Again.

* * *

**18.3** (McRai thePrinx's)

Kallus looked at Kanan oddly.

"Why do you want to see my Pocket?"

"I'm just interested, is all. Everyone's works differently and they keep different things." Pause. "…Okay, I was wondering about your weapons collection by now, mostly." He admitted. "Zeb's always either thinks it's amazing or ridiculous depending on the most recent match's ending."

Kallus shrugged. "Suit yourself. I should probably see which ones need cleaning anyways." With a strange twist of space Kallus pulled them in. "It's mostly weapons." He grinned. "I keep all the weapons I earn in each and every loop, or the ones I'm given."

Kanan stopped gaping at the massive piles and piles of weapons of mass destruction long enough to raise an eyebrow speculatively. "I'm guessing that has to do with baseline?"

Kallus winced slightly but nodded, digging through a stack of swords and pulling one out every now and then. "In baseline and every loop I'm not Awake soon enough to derail it I steal a bo-rifle during the massacre on Lasan." He took a deep breath and let it out. "I don't really remember how it happened in baseline but… every loop it's different. I always take it from a Lasat I killed personally. An elderly Lasat who'd been unable to really fight, a veteran who'd retired a long time ago but was still trying to protect their family. A mother trying to protect her cubs. A rookie who'd barely even started _learning_ how to fight. A survivor who'd been… _interrogated_." Kanan didn't mention anything when Kallus's voice started to waver. "It's… a personal goal. Almost something to prove to myself that I'm _not_ like my baseline self anymore. Every one of my weapons, _every single one in here_ ," He motioned to the football field sized area stacked almost twenty feet high in places with weapons and objects. "Was gifted to me. Was something _I_ made myself. Was something I just _had_ and was never something belonging to someone else first."

Kanan looked around again. "…I'd _say_ you've more than proven that you're not your baseline self, but I get the feeling that wouldn't stop the urge to prove it."

Kallus turned around with a smile, unsheathing a sword that looked like a giant snake fang. "That's true but it does help to hear it. Want to see how difficult it is to clean a sword make out of a basilisk's fang and soaked in its venom?"

Kanan took the subject change with grace. "Of course. How'd you get this one?"

"Hogwarts, you'd be surprised how many versions of that basilisk are just suffering from a major toothache. He was pretty happy when I dealt with Tom Riddle's diary so he offered me a 'boon' or whatever…"

* * *

**18.4** (McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra smiled and waved graciously as the paparazzi screamed. He then shut the window with a bang.

"I _hate it_ when loops go like this!" He groaned, sliding down to hide below the windowsill.

"Tell me about it." Tony Stark slid down next to him. "Sup kid."

"Hey Tony." They fistbumped.

* * *

**18.5** (McRai thePrinx's)

Kallus Awoke, blinked, then Awoke again.

"Well that's my record for shortest loop." He blinked again and shook his head.

"Sorry about that, had to uh… I wasn't going to be a Sith apprentice. That's, uh, if the last loop you were in lasted only a second, that happened several dozen loops ago for me…"

Seeing Ezra over by the sidelines of the current gunfight Kallus worked his way through the chaos expertly. "Don't blame you. I've had several of those… first time I did the same. Second time I said 'what the hell' and faked it long enough to make a lightsaber."

Ezra snorted. "Only you would fake being insane and evil just to be able to make a lightsaber. You could have asked me or Kanan, or heck, any of us. We all know how to make them by now."

"That wouldn't count." Kallus insisted. "Besides, _this_ one is way cooler than anything I've seen you guys make." He pulled a small bundle out of his subspace.

"Holy shit, is that really a..?"

"Mini chainsaw lightsaber? Why yes, yes it is." Kallus smirked. He straight up cackled when an Awake Zeb spat several curses at him from across the fight.

* * *

**18.6** (McRai thePrinx's)

"SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT." Kanan practically chanted, running into the next room. "WHERE IS THE PAPER WHERE'S THE FUCKING PAPER."

He ran from room to room. He was on his seventh paper, just _one more_ and he'd make it past this horror of a loop and he could just go somewhere _safe_ where he could turn on the lights and leave them on for about two lifetimes and-

He screeched like a banshee when a white face and black tentacles were around the next corner. Quickly turning around he screamed so high his voice broke when the face was _right there_.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Kanan!" Ezra sighed in exasperation. "That's one of the biggest rules of Slenderman! DON'T turn around! _Ever!_ "

"I'msorryI'msorrydon'tmakemedothatagainIneverwanttogobacktothatloopthatwasterrifyingcanwekeepthelightsonforthenextfiveloops?" Kanan huddled miserably on his bed twitching at every flicker of movement.

"I need to teach you the rules of horror games… and loops." Ezra shook his head. "And yes, the lights will be on the whole time."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Rule number one!" Ezra clicked the chalkboard with his pointer. The gathered loopers of his loop and a few guests quickly pulled out notepads. "Don't joke about horror loops. Horror games are fun, horror loops are not. No joking around."

There were nods and scribbles as people took notes.

"Rule number two! Be prepared for anything! The game slash loop is out for one or multiple of three things. To scare the everlasting _shit_ out of you and traumatize you for life, to destroy your body and/or soul for the rest of eternity, or to kill slash eat you in the most painful and terrifying way imaginable."

More scratching from pens and pencils.

"Rule number three! Never, and I repeat _never_ , look! Behind! You! This _especially_ applies to Slenderman! He teleports!"

There were shudders and dark mutters throughout the room.

"Rule number four! Depending on the goal of the 'game', if you can, by that I mean the enemy is concrete and not supernatural and likely to come back more pissed than ever, _destroy_ that sunovabitch as soon and as violently as possible. I want you to find a way to throw that sucker into the nearest _sun_ if you have to! Use whatever resources you have on hand including looper abilities! This may be a bad choice if it's your first time going through a specific loop, you _might_ want to try going through it the 'traditional' way so you understand how it works first."

Nods and very eager voices in agreement.

"Rule number five! I'm going to just state rules on Slender for this one. When you start, _don't run_. I don't care how terrified you are. In the beginning you're on 'Easy' mode. Running _attracts_ him. You're allowed to start _really_ getting antsy by the third or fourth page. Those weird 'bumbadump' sound effects are your cues for how serious everything is. If you start running into him every minute or so, go around corners slowly so that you see around them as soon as possible. If you see him look _straight down_ and find a way around him. Don't look at him! It makes him angry and means Game Over if you stare for too long! Once you're in the final few pages you need to run for your damn life. He's right on your ass at this point and no matter what you do or what tricks you use he will be _right there_. At this point turning around means Game Over! Looking at him for longer than half a second means Game Over! If you see him turn to the next doorway or area and don't stop running! Keep running and running, don't worry about the map unless you have photographic memory and can remember where you have or haven't been! Just keep running and _eventually_ you'll find the last page and the loop will be _over!_ "

There were various claps and more than a few 'oh thank god' s.

Ezra folded his pointer up with an accomplished smile.

"Do you have any tips for Five Nights at Freddy's?" A guest looper who Ezra couldn't seem to place asked timidly.

"Eh, so-so." Ezra made a motion with his hand. "There's so much weird stuff going on in that loop that half the time you loop in it'll be a different location or a variant. There's lots of tips and ways of outsmarting the game but sometimes it doesn't _let you_ outsmart it. We done here for now? Good, I need to go give this talk to Kanan. He's still in his room with the lights on."

Ezra walked out the door. A second later he screamed and a familiar static sound echoed through the halls, 'bumbadump' echoing alongside it once the screaming and static stopped.

The loopers stiffly huddled in their seats looked at each other in horror.

"Sh-should we..?" Sabine asked weakly.

"There's nothing we can do for him now, Sabine." Hera laid her hand on her shoulder sadly. "Everyone, let's stick together and go see what eight items we have to find. I know this ship like the back of my hand… I've _built_ it a few loops! I can keep track of where we've looked or not."

Everyone filed out and squished together into the hallways, readying themselves for _yet again_ another horrifying and traumatizing experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18.1: I'll just go ahead and say that Paint has contributed several of these before at some points. It said pie but then cheesecake. Why? It's cheesecake pie. Ezra is considering switching to a messier flavor, perhaps cranberry? Alright so I recently watched Gurren Lagann and let me tell you. *opens mouth* *closes mouth* *sits down and curls into ball* EPISODE EEEEIIIGHT. *sobs* Okay no but really Gurren Lagann is fucking fantastic and I don't know why I put it off. It's like this combination of My Little Pony friendship/bro powers, Dragonball fightscenes, Dragonball yelling to become more powerful, and Transformers giant robots except they're literally just heads. Watch out for Episode Seven though because it is extremely pervy and even though it was hilarious it also made me really uncomfortable and possibly slightly triggered me. So just a little warning in case you guys might be triggered by that.
> 
> 18.2: And now we begin my series of loops where Kanan and Hera have to deal with and handle Kanera in the loops. :3
> 
> 18.3: His pocket's the size of multiple football fields inside and every one of them is filled to the brim with weapons. Okay no one is set aside and about halfway filled with various robots he's used but still. Kallus found his hobby.
> 
> 18.4: Tony and Ezra are buds. JARVIS and LOKI like to chat amicably about how their creators need to stop being reckless and putting their lives in danger doing crazy stunts.
> 
> 18.5: It doesn't technically count, since Ezra was the one who ended the loop so soon. He actually has to somewhat TRY staying alive to make it onto the shortest loop list.
> 
> 18.6: Kanan doesn't typically have a potty mouth but in the case of Slenderman everyone tends to run around in circles cussing their heads off. He was so close to being free. Coincidentally the next loop Kanan asks everyone where they were since he hid in his room the whole time and never saw anyone. It took a while before Ezra was able to give him that 'Surviving Slenderman' talk.


	19. TCAoaTTP 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questions and Answers 1

**Pulsar747: What is Kallus's record for surviving the Empire? Both longest and shortest.**

Well the absolute shortest (besides loops where he or a certain Anchor automatically suicided) is when he Awoke into a loop where his PreAwakening self was PARTICULARLY nasty and he made use of apparation right after he Awoke to teleport straight to Grand Moff Tarkin and bedazzle-blast him with permastick glue, rock candy, a very large variety of glitter, and real fuzzy rainbow feathers. He lasted only long enough to realize that Vader was right there and had pulled out his lightsaber. On another note, beheadment seems to be the most common way of Kallus to get killed outside of being blown up. And Looper made/acquired permastick glue won't come off.

Longest is obviously the times where he spends the entire loop alive. These are the loops where he'll play sneaky and hard to get. His pranks might not be as wide ranged or outrageous, but they're the most inconvenient and aggravating because he takes the time to plan out small details and figure out escape plans.

Bonus: He also recruits other loopers into helping every once in a while. One time Sabine ran off and spent the entire loop with him in hiding in order to pull the Ultimate Prank.

**numair2304: Relationships concepts: are Kanan and Hera going to be a couple? Do they like each just as friends, just as family or as boyfriend/girlfriend?**

I will not address the issue of Kanera, YET, for several reasons, one being that it is not "officially" canon though even as a nonshipper I see it everywhere. I have PLANS for it though, ESPECIALLY if it becomes canon. Though I will say I plan on it becoming somewhat of a running gag and Chopper ships it like hell.

**majishan: I was wondering about the crew's full list of abilities, have they gone to the same dimensions or different ones?**

Okay this is kind of a confusing one...

Some of the crew have indeed gone to the same loops before. But there are also a lot of loops that, say, only one or two of them have gone to. Eventually they're all likely to end up in said loop, but for now that's not the case. What abilities they keep from those loops vary depending on how much they like the ability and/or how much they excel in it. Sometimes they'll keep an ability without even meaning to but sometimes the ability doesn't stick into the next loop. Such as all of them having the Force (though Ezra and Kanan are still a lot stronger than the others) and it's mentioned Ezra and Kanan both apparating multiple times but other than them only Hera really kept Hogwarts magic.

To be honest _I'm_ not even sure what ALL of their abilities are. Zeb and Hera both tend to be power hoarders, they keep gathering different abilities regardless of how useful/pointless the ability would be in their loop. Sabine in general has more of intellectual abilities outside of ninjutsu and various other of the more obvious fighting abilities to keep. (I have the idea that she replaced Chichi one loop) By intellectual I mean different fighting styles - even ones that aren't necessarily SUPERPOWERED styles. Chopper is something of a surprise but I'll spoil it a bit and say that Chopper was in the FullMetal Alchemist loop and nobody knows how but he somehow learned to turn himself organic at will. He's also more intellectual gathering like Sabine. Hera, outside of random powers she finds interesting, is out to learn all sorts of things that don't have to do with super powers either. More mundane things sometimes, but while Ezra's a whiz with programming and design SHE'S the real builder of the crew. Kanan has a thing for the more subtle powers and abilities and he tries to enjoy the other cultures and lifestyles of the loops more than learning different powers. Ezra is of course all into the big flashy magics and powers but he likes the useful ones too. He's also not into building and inventing like it's somewhat been coming off as; he's all programming and codes. He can draw on his knowledge of other loops' tech to create 'new' stuff but he's not into it and he's not very good at it. Actually with Zeb, he learns a lot of the fighting magics too but ENTIRELY for the purpose of not letting Kallus get ahead of him. Kallus just KEEPS learning more and more fighting styles and fighting powers out of boredom and he's secretly collecting a massive collection of weapons from all kinds of loops. ALL of them were either made personally or were gifted to him- which is symbolic to him after baseline.

**numair2304: When did Ezra start getting a fear of gender bent loops? The first such loops that he had on his own, he seemed ok with it. Annoyed but ok.**

I wouldn't say Ezra is SCARED of genderbends, per'se, but if I'm thinking about the right scene you're referring to at the time he had pretty average 'mentally scaring' loops relatively recently. He wasn't exactly scared but mostly just really really pissed, moreso because Sabine was baiting him and they both knew it.

**numair2304: The Pinkie Protection that Ezra used in mindscape on the Inquisitor was good. An alternate would perhaps be Five Night's at Freddys though that might scar Ezra as well with bad memories.**

Gihihi... I haven't brought up the Pinkie Protection lately. I need to do some loops with it. Ezra's more likely to screw around with the Inquisition whether it endangers him or not. Remember the "this may or may not turn the both of us into vegetables" bit?

**numair2304: In 4.2 I take it that Chopper was an organic which is how he acquired a soul but an organic what?**

Throughout the loops Chopper has become many beings. His first organic loop, and then to carry on in a recurring pattern, actually switched him and Zeb. So yeah. Zeb Droid. Chopper lasat. I should probably totally expand on that a little more.

**numair2304: Is Kanan going to learn how to deal with his phobia about snow? I mean it's either going to take therapy from Fluttershy or Eden Hall; or its going to involve total immersion like if he loops into Petabee or similar.**

I'm not sure what I'm doing with Kanan and his cryophobia. I feel bad making Kanan the running gag of the fic even though it's a hilarious running gag. At the "current" moment in the loops he is just really really good at staying out of those situations. He's also got Chopper taking pity on him and running interceptions too. Hmm... I just had a wonderfully marvelous idea as to how to continue with it.

**numair2304: I think that you have to set the Ying Yang Yoyo to Read Only as that thing scares me. It's one of the few things that have effects that last through loops. While I don't think it would affect the older loopers due to the mental defenses they have established over time, I think it's a major hazard to new loopers.**

I actually have many theories on Ying Yang Yoyos. For one, they're notoriously under-noticed by many loopers. Especially with the ridiculousness that was the Canon usage of it in Xiaolin Showdown. Swr loop, of course, knows better. Now think of it as speed therapy in some terms when talking about Kallus. Hitting him with it, for that first loop, wasn't supposed to take into account that it would be long run. "Speed therapy" in looper minds works perfectly for one loop with nonloopers. Ezra was aware that using it on a looper would likely be exceedingly dangerous. So he didn't plan on doing that... until, whoops, he made friends with goody-two-shoes!Kallus and suddenly the poor guy's looping.

It could've had the potential to turn very very wrong with Kallus. The abrupt introduction to the Yoyo'd Kallus's memories and personality with the baseline Kallus's could have caused him to go mad and snap and well we all know how that story goes in their loop. But luckily Kallus was quick to contact Ezra before the bad memories really set in, not to mention Ezra just as quickly reached out and made sure he was going to be okay for the moment until he could help. Calling Zeb and spending several hours bickering wasn't just a random thing either- since it was a major prank loop and not taken seriously that's pretty much all they did and Kallus saw all of it in its exceedingly childish glory. By making sure he was okay and then "reinforcing" his more positive memories they were able to help him get some mental space between good and bad memories.

At that point he CHOSE which set to believe in. He could have followed the nasty ones, but because he made friends with Ezra he chose the good and not horribly depressing ones. After that it was a very large matter of keeping the positive memories at the forefront and the negative in back. Kallus has the absolute strongest mental control and organization over all the loopers no contest. Even without force training (he can't help but think it's silly when he can just use his fang sword from Inuyasha or some other dangerous weapon) he's very well controlled. He had to be in the beginning because there were so many bad memories compared to good. Eventually as he grew more skillful and got more positive memories it became easier until he doesn't even really have to "try" anymore. In which scenario you can see his current personality being able to develop. Basically the mess with Kallus was a complete mistake and it had the possibility to go horribly horribly TERRIBLY wrong on many levels, but through circumstance and raw luck it didn't.

The Ying Yang Yoyos aren't 'played' with by many loopers and even the swr loopers take them more cautiously after that as they discovered how much it could have blown up. Kallus does, however, use the Yoyo on occasion to anti-corrupt Empirical officers low enough on the food chain that they're not anywhere near even "background characters" but high enough to cause damage. He's very cautious about it when he does use it and as he grows in the loops he tends to use it less and less.

To actually _answer_ your question, they're only truly dangerous if someone doesn't know or realize what they're doing. Or in situations where everything just goes nuts and psychological damage is not high enough on the priorities list to care. Loopers are unfortunately very good at doing that (AKA allowing two Allsparks to come into contact with two Death Stars in two seperate subspace pockets and then the resulting Transformers duking it out. An event that happens in the Star Wars official loop.) The few loopers who notice their usefulness have also one way or another noticed their propensity for danger. Yoyos are kept away from other loopers. You're right, though, they're too mentally strong and just plain OLD to be affected. Plus, the handful of times it accidentally happened the things broke. An object from one goofy loop wasn't meant to reverse an ETERNITY of personality.

Newer loopers are warned if in the presence of someone who knows the danger and Yoyos aren't even taken out of subspace pockets with them around. Luckily, with newer loopers, there are several safety nets. For one: you hit someone with a Yoyo and they're reversed, but you hit them again and they're back to normal. The reversal doesn't have any negative side effects either once they're okay. Second: it doesn't take long before a Yoyo would break trying to reverse even a newer looper's personality. Third: Newer loopers are notoriously getting their arses kicked by older loopers and it honest to Yggdrasil would be pathetically easy to subdue a corrupted one long enough to reverse them back.


	20. TCAoaTTP 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ravine, Relationship Problems, Communicator Conversations, Looney Chopper

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **20.1** (numair2304) **The Ravine**

Ezra allowed his anger at the Inquisitor to power him as he reached with the force to the mind residing in the ravine below. The Inquisitor looked on in disbelief as a small white bird appeared over the lip of the ravine and launched itself at him.

"What a disappointing opponent you are, boy." The Inquisitor said, batting it away with one hand, only to notice that Ezra had started to move away from the area with speed.

The Cuckoo Swarm descended.

* * *

Ezra allowed his anger at the Inquisitor to power him as he reached with the force to the minds residing in the ravine below. He then smiled and Force yanked the two lighsabers away from the Inquistor while throwing something yellow straight at him. The Inquisitor, sensing through the force that the item was no threat, caught it in his free hand. He identified it as some form of yellow fruit, which he then realized had some form of adhesive on it bonding it to his hand.

"Banana?"

The Inquisitor saw a strange yellow life form standing on the edge of the ravine and a second and third appear. Soon an entire horde were charging at him yelling the same thing over and over.

"Bananabananabananabananabananabananabananabananabananabanana!"

* * *

Ezra allowed his anger at the Inquisitor to power him as he reached with the force to the mind residing in the ravine below. He frowned as he realized the mind was definitely not what he was expecting. The Inquisitor looked on in disbelief as a pink pony suddenly appeared by the boy with what appeared to be some rudimentary cannon.

"It's time for a party!" Yelled the pony as the howitzer fired.

As Ezra ran yelling at Kanan to get to the ship, he glanced back over his shoulder to see the first round of icing and streamers hit the Inquisitor.

' _Next time I'm checking ahead to make sure that it's baseline.'_ Ezra thought.

* * *

The Inquisitor stared at the Padawan on the edge of the ravine and then something caught his eye. By his foot there was a gold ring. He could feel the darkness surrounding it, calling him, looking at him. Losing interest in his surroundings he dropped his lightsabers and picked up the ring.

"Precious." Someone said in the background.

The Inquisitor just admired the ring in his hand.

"My precious. Give us back our precious!" The voice yelled, anger filling it.

The sentence broke through the clouds filling the Inquisitor's mind and he looked up to see a wiry humanoid launch itself at him. Kanan and Ezra watched the ensuing struggle.

"The Inquisitor versus Gollum, not something you get to see everyday." said Kanan, observing that while usually the Inquisitor should have been able to send Gollum flying, his obsession with the ring was blunting his concentration and forcing him to just physically wrestle with Gollum to hold onto the ring.

"I didn't realize this was a fused loop," Ezra said. "But we better hope that after the fight we find a way to destroy the Ring. I don't want Palpatine to get his hands on it." Ezra winced as a small scream came from the fighting pair. "Ooh, finger."

* * *

(McRai thePrinx's)

Ezra reached casually into the ravine with the force, not finding any fun with this for some reason. Usually he could find a way to mess around but for once he was feeling kind of… _bored_ with this scene. While the giant creature climbed its way up to him he hummed and rubbed his chin. Well, that was an idea… Five minutes later the Inquisitor had to flee or risk being cuddle crushed by a swarm of suddenly exceedingly friendly creatures.

"Meh, not my best idea." Ezra shrugged. "I'll have to ask Yoyo for some tips."

* * *

 **20.2** (McRai thePrinx's) **Relationship Problems**

Kanan Awoke and immediately facepalmed.

"Kanan? What's wrong?" Hera looked at him in worry.

Hurriedly trying to pull his loop memories together Kanan took a step back and rubbed his forehead. "Um… I… just hold on a second, please…" Seeing that he was trying to work something out NonAwake Hera did just that, waiting patiently.

' _Ezra!'_ He groaned across the bond. _'Please provide a well needed distraction right about now…'_ He shoved a mental bundle across to his padawan so he'd know why.

' _Well I could but she'd just stew and want to know later. On the other hand if she's kept extremely busy she might, and this is a very extreme **might** , forget about it.'_ There was a pause. _'…Plus I've been having fun betting with LOKI on PreAwakening you and Hera.'_

' _I hate you.'_

' _Now now, hate is not the proper emotion for a jedi…'_

Kanan did the mental equivalent of a slap upside the head. _'Please don't quote baseline deficiencies on me.'_

Ezra snickered. _'I can get Kallus to stage something if you're really that desperate.'_

' _Ezra you've been betting on my PreAwakening love life you know **very damn well** I am that desperate. Tell him I'll get him some blackmail level pictures from his NonAwake self.'_

' _Oooh, he'll like those. Let me check. For now though you're on your own.'_

"Crap." Kanan facepalmed again.

When Hera gave him a quizzical look he nearly facepalmed _again_.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Several days later Kanan slouched in a chair guiltily.

"I try, honestly I do." He groaned. "But Awake Hera's a lot better at dealing with Awakening into relationships than me."

"Probably because your NonAwake self is harder to deal with than NonAwake Hera." Sabine pointed out, relaxed into a chair herself. "And you are _such_ a _pushover,_ Kanan! You can barely even work up the guts to break up with her if you Awake into the beginning of the relationship. Any later on and you skip planet." She motioned to their surroundings. "Such as now."

Kanan just sunk into his chair more. "Well what about you and Ezra? I didn't see him jumping at the chance to have a vacation loop with you." _'And me.'_ He mentally added. They were usually fine with him chaperoning anyways.

"We had a fight." Sabine waved it off. "I don't remember what it was about, but it was several loops ago. We have this agreement that if we disagree real badly we spend at least five loops each apart. If we feel like we need more we negotiate in a calm and definitely not-involving-eggbombs manner. Usually by the time the five loops is up we forgot what was even the matter and we're missing each other."

Kanan had to push himself up to sitting correctly so he could look at her. "You guys don't really have much drama between you, do you?"

"Drama is good and all but it's way more convenient to just be rational adults about it." Sabine shrugged. "I mean _come on_ , who wants to relive soap opera loops?"

Kanan made a face. "I see your point."

"Oh and if you see Ezra next loop tell him I'd like five more loops added on. I'm still aggravated with him for whatever reason."

Kanan snorted. "Sure, I'll tell him that…"

* * *

 **20.3** (numair2304) **Communicator Conversations** _  
_

_:Spectre-4 to Ghost.:_ An Awake Zeb said over the communicator.

"Go ahead, Spectre-4." An unAwake Kanan replied.

_:Right. Well, we're a couple of minutes out and we've had a bit of a problem.:_

"I thought you might. Look, don't worry about the meilooruns."

Awake Ezra joined in _:Yeah, meilooruns. Uh, we found some. But we lost them. Then we found them again. But we smashed them.:_

 _:Just cut to the chase, kid.:_ Zeb interjected.

Kanan realized that the sounds in the background sounded like… but it couldn't be.

"Wait! What am I hearing? It sounds like -"

_:Yeah, about that. See, um well. We stole a TIE fighter. Well we actually stole a bunch of them.:_

"You what?" Kanan realized that the noise he could hear through the communicator, he could hear on the edge of his own perception. He got up and ran to the roof access.

_:He's taking it better than I thought.:_

Kanan pushed through the access hatch. He stared open eyed at the twenty TIE fighters flying in formation towards the Ghost.

"So can we keep them?" He heard Ezra say.

* * *

 _:Spectre-4 to Ghost.:_ An Awake Zeb said over the communicator.

"Go ahead, Spectre-4." An unAwake Kanan replied.

_:Right. Well, we're a couple of minutes out and we've had a bit of a problem.:_

"I thought you might. Look, don't worry about the meilooruns."

Awake Ezra joined in. _:Yeah, meilooruns. Uh, we found some. But we lost them. Then we found them again. But we smashed them.:_

 _:Just cut to the chase, kid.:_ Zeb interjected.

Kanan realized that the sounds in the background sounded like… but it couldn't be.

"Wait! What am I hearing? It sounds like-"

_:Yeah, about that. See, um well. Well it would be easier for you to see with your own eyes if you head out to the roof.:_

Kanan realized that the Ghost was starting to vibrate slightly. He ran towards the roof access. Kanan stood on the Ghost and stared open eyed at the Star Destroyer hovering overhead.

"So can we keep it?" He heard Ezra say.

* * *

"Ezra?"

"Yes Kanan?"

"Why are you doing this? I mean I heard from Zeb the jokes you've played with this routine, but I'm Awake this time so it's not going to get a reaction from me."

"I know that you're awake Kanan, so are Zeb and Chopper, but Hera isn't and don't you want her reaction?"

Kanan thought about this while studying the twenty tons of meilooruns that had been piled outside the Ghost. He smiled.

"I don't know how you got all of these but you're on. Make sure to take a recording of her expression."

"Already planning on it."

* * *

(McRai thePrinx's)

_:Spectre-4 to Ghost.:_

Cautiously, remembering the odd events that seemed to happen at this point, Kanan replied. "Go ahead Spectre-4."

 _:Right. Well, we're a couple of minutes out and… well… I don't even know.:_ Zeb said.

 _:It's not my fault!:_ Ezra yelled.

"Ezra, what did you do?" The looper asked with narrowed eyes.

_:Uh… nothing?:_

Kanan sighed wearily and left to look outside.

"What in the name of..?" He blinked and tilted his head, horror quickly filling his face. "EZRA!"

"I know right!" The Anchor shook his head from the top of the… head. "Who knew the Empire was replacing TIE Fighters with Gunmen this loop?"

"This is somehow Kallus's fault!" Kanan yelled back at him before going inside to warn Hera that the Ghost was suddenly about to become very very outdated in technology. And also to find Ezra's tablet and send Kallus a very angry email.

"So… we _can_ keep it, right?" Ezra asked unsurely.

"I still don't know what the hell 'it' is." An exasperated NonAwake Zeb groaned from the inside of the Gunmen.

* * *

 **20.4** (McRai thePrinx's) **Looney Chopper**

"Wait… what?" Ezra raised an eyebrow at the looper.

"Yeah… you didn't know?" The vertically challenged blonde raised one back. "He looped in a long time ago."

Ezra rubbed his forehead. "You know, this explains… a lot. You're saying he replaced your brother?"

"Yup. Ya know _now_ it makes sense why he was so comfortable being a suit of armor. And thanks to that algorithm he worked out Al's able to turn into an organic again if he wants to, at the least."

"Not human?" Ezra wondered.

Edward Elric shook his head. "No, Truth took his human body as payment for our… baseline mistake. Thanks to that he isn't 'allowed' to create his own human body or something like that. Truth's a stickler for 'rules'."

"Well what does he turn into if not a human?" Ezra asked politely. "I can't think of any nonhuman sentient creatures in your loop other than homunculi. Then again when I replaced you nobody else was Awake and all my friends were replacing yours. Pretty sure it didn't go baseline."

Ed snorted. "You're telling me _that_ story later. Al's gotten pretty comfortable in his armor since baseline so sometimes he just sticks with it. But otherwise he tries out different things." He snickered. "Should've seen Roy's face when he spent the whole loop as a shapeshifting Charmander." Ezra joined him in snickering.

"Wait…" Ezra blinked. "Technically by the rules of your loop's alchemy it's impossible to take the materials in a suit of armor and turn it into organic material."

"Did I forget to mention he added Looney Tunes logic to it?" Edward smirked. "Sometimes it won't work though and he just stays as the armor the whole loop."

Ezra rubbed his forehead. "Chopper knows _Looney Tunes logic?_ Should've seen that one coming…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20.1: numair2304 went nuts with these and it was awesome. I only added one of my own. Sometimes you can't help but feel the teeniest tiniest smidgen of pity for the Inquisitor, but then you remember his jerkness and feel happy.
> 
> 20.2: Yay, Kanan's side to Kanera in the loops! Yep, Kanan's a total sucker. 
> 
> 20.3: Again numair2304 did a ton of awesomeness and I only added one. -w- Kanan is lucky he doesn't have to be Awake through a lot of the stuff his team does.
> 
> 20.4: Chopper has many many talents he keeps hidden from the rest of the loopers in order to cause more chaos. This was mentioned in the Q & A chapter but not really elaborated on HOW so I just wanted to play with it.


	21. TCAoaTTP 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 22 Pickup, Walk into Room, Watch Guy, The Ravine, Regrets, A Trip to Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're up to this chapter hopefully you've been enjoying this story. I'm numair2304 and I volunteered to take over this story when McRai thePrinx was unfortunately unable to carry on with it. I only hope that I can measure up. Right key things   
> 1)  
> I welcome contributions and additions to the story (be they suggestions, snippets or a full loop).  
> 2)   
> I hope everyone enjoys the story.

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**21.1** (numair2304) **22 Pickup**

Ezra smiled as he crouched behind the crates along with Sabine, Kanan and Zeb. With the crew fully Awake this loop and Kallus nonAwake, they had decided to really give the Empire's forces a shock this time. The blaster fire on their position continued as Kanan talked to Hera on the communicator.

"Hera, a 22 pickup like normal."

"Ok see you guys in a few."

Zeb started directing the Wookies to get in the container and after they were moving in the right direction joined back with the group.

Ezra smirked at the crew and said "Well shall we let them in on the secret."

All four moved in front of the crates easily evading the blaster fire with slight movements. As four lightsabers lit up in unison Ezra watched as Agent Kallus's eyes went straight from shocked to bug eyed. It took him a while to focus his voice.

"All troopers fire on the... fire on all the Jedi!"

Five minutes later all that was left at the facility were either unconscious or groaning, wishing they were unconscious, stormtroopers. The only thought going through Kallus's mind was that he really didn't want to make his next report.

* * *

**21.2** (numair2304) **Walk into Room**

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

"Ezra, where's the brain bleach?"

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

"Don't want to know. Don't want to know." was the mantra he kept repeating.

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room.

He screamed and collapsed.

Hours later Ezra was being yelled at for not only creating a holodeck in secret but for setting the program it displayed as an arctic wasteland.

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

"Great I'm stuck in a loop."

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

He analysed what he had just seen and started running.

_|"Ezra, why didn't you tell me we had a guest looper and who it was?"|_

_|"Why, what's the problem. You've met her before and you know Trixie's a good person."|_

_|"She's in the same room as Sabine, they're both Awake and they're talking about explosives."|_

_|"Oh... Vacation loop?"|_

_|"Vacation loop' Kanan agreed. 'In a galaxy far, far away."|_

* * *

Ezra walked into the room.

He looked at the room.

He screamed and collapsed.

Later when he was found wrapped in a ball, it was revealed that Kanan had gotten revenge for the holosuite incident. He had rebuilt the suite but had set it to Five Nights at Freddy's.

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

After shutting the door, gently by using the Force to slow its descent, he leant against the metal with his forehead against the cold metal eyes shut as he thought to himself.

_'No idea how it got on board, either the loop itself or someone's bad idea of a practical joke. Now how to get it off the ship before an accident happens and an attack occurs. We are about to dock so that takes care of the where but the how.'_ Kanan gulped. _'Just have to be careful and trust in the Force.'_

Kanan opened the door and focused on his target. Not wanting to risk anything he carefully, gently picked up the snoring object with the Force and carried it to the ship's exit. After leaving the sleeping bird in a corner of the hangar bay and grabbing Ezra, the Ghost got out of the area as quickly as it could. Later they listened to the Star Destroyer's distress calls screaming for help as the Cucco swarm overran the ship.

* * *

**21.3** (numair2304) **Watch Guy**

Zeb Woke as he walked into the lounge and sagged. He sent off a ping and received a local reply. Nodding to his fellow looper he collapsed into a seat sighing heavily. Ezra, the room's other occupant, feeling the weight of the soul and the depression asked."Previous loop a bit rough?"

"Just been through a punishment loop. Had to go through Eiken"

"Why? What did you do to end up there?"

"That's just it, I didn't do anything. The loop before I was the only other member of the crew Awake and there was an Anchor replacing you."

"Who was it?"

"Ben Tennyson. Do you know him?"

"Watch guy?"

"Yeah Watch Guy. Anyway he ended up crashing the loop."

"How?"

"It was all going well until he decided to use something called Upgrade on a Star Destroyer, he redesigned the entire thing but when he timed out the new structure couldn't take the stress. It managed to somehow implode and explode at the exact same time crashing the loop."

"He still hasn't fixed that timing issue?"

"Just before the explosion he was yelling at the watch, claiming that it had done it on purpose."

* * *

**21.4** (numair2304) **The Ravine**

Ezra allowed his anger at the Inquisitor to power him as he reached with the force to the mind residing in the ravine below. The Inquisitor saw a dark mist flowing from the ravine which started to from a coherent shape.

**"Crystals…"**

Ezra pointed at the Inquisitor.

"He's got one in his lightsaber."

**"Ccrrrysstaaaaallllss!!"**

Ezra sat back with popcorn as he watched the conflict. A fight between a being of darkness manifest as a shadow vs a dark lord armed with a lightsaber made for an interesting show, especially when they were fighting over who was holding the lightsaber.

* * *

The Inquisitor stared at the Padawan standing on the edge of the ravine. The boy showed no distress after the defeat of his master and even  appeared to be laughing under his breath.

"What is the matter with you boy? Has the defeat of your master broken your mind!".

"Not really, just looking forward to what happens next. Toothless your turn."

The Inquisitor saw a black winged reptile pull itself over the ravine and sneered. What could such a creature do, then noticed that the creatures mouth was starting to glow blue.

Hiccup watched the ensuing chaos. "Note to self" he thought "Lightsabers cannot deflect plasma bursts."

* * *

The Inquisitor was sent hurtling out of the cavern, the Force push that had propelled him accelerating him off into the distance. An unAwake Kanan stared at his padawan standing on the edge of the ravine, their arms still outstretched. The small figure's heavy breathing and barely controlled shudders of rage were obvious to his eyes. Kanan knew that he would need to talk to his pupil about the dangers of succumbing to strong emotions which could lead to the dark side but as it stood Kanan would wait until the kid calmed down. Kanan in no way wanted to draw any ire especially after what he had seen happen to the Inquisitor.

On the edge of the ravine Ezra tried to calm down.

He had already been unhappy as he had been the only one Awake for the last 50 loops.

He had found himself annoyed to be dealing with a genderbend loop again but with a twist where he was the only individual placed in the opposing gender.

He had noticed his anger increasing and his temper growing short as the cramps suffered monthly in this form and this loop were among the worse he'd ever suffered.

On the one hand maybe he had overreacted, I mean the only thing that had happened was the Inquisitor had attempted to flirt with... No, on second thought sending the man flying out the cave wasn't good enough. Next time he was going to try for an orbital shot.

* * *

**21.5**      (numair2304 + McRai thePrinx's) **Regrets**

Zeb Woke to find himself looking at a locked door, the words "Sorry, kid! You did good" echoing in his ears. He swore and hit the release on the door while starting to move. He rolled to avoid the blaster fire and slammed into the two stormtroopers in the corridor. Not slowing down, he back flipped kicked into Kallus's head forcing him to release Ezra. Grabbing Ezra he ran back to the door sensing for any rear attacks using the Force. Getting through the door he slammed down with his free arm on the shutting mechanism.

"I thought you had abandoned me!"

"I'm sorry kid, but I couldn't forgive myself if I did that again."

_|"I didn't know you cared.'_ "|

He frowned and realising sent off a Ping. The reply came immediately.

"Karrablast you're Awake, how long?"

"Just before you shut the door." Ezra's smiling face turned serious. "Why did you save me Zeb? You know how this runs, you would have got me back in a few hours."

Zeb locked down, his face revealing nothing but Ezra sensed his emotions in turmoil.

"Zeb?"

"I never have really forgiven myself for abandoning you to those bucket heads. I made excuses to myself that you would be fine, you were just a kid and they wouldn't hurt a kid but I realised that was only an excuse. They would hurt kids, my planet had kids on it. The lesson was driven home a few loops ago. There was a stealth anchor and I was the only one Awake. I decided to follow the baseline but it went wrong. You were shot when you tried to escape from the cells and died before we could come back for you. I can't let something like that happen to a kid again."

There was a pause as Ezra digested this information. Then he smiled.

"It wasn't your fault Zeb, never believe that, but thanks for looking after the unawake me. You might have to apologise to Yoyo though, he Woke up just before you kicked him."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_TheIronSpeaker: Hey, Yoyo, sorry about the head._

_Yoyo'd: Not a problem. It actually saved me the /figurative/ headache of having to explain how Ezra escaped the cell to my superiors._

_TheIronSpeaker: Haha, very funny._

_Yoyo'd: I thought so_

_Yoyo'd: Hey, Zeb... I know I'm the last person you'd probably go to talk about this kind of thing but... you looked pretty desperate._

_TheIronSpeaker: ..._

_TheIronSpeaker: I... had a bad loop with a stealth anchor. NonAwake Ezra didn't make it._

_Yoyo'd: It wasn't my NonAwake self's fault, was it? Because if so I'm willing to have a stress relief spar right now._

_TheIronSpeaker: Okay first of all no, it was a random shot._

_TheIronSpeaker: Second of all stop that._

_Yoyo'd: What?_

_TheIronSpeaker: Yoyo you're not Kallus. Don't even try saying it anymore. Kallus is the baseline j*** who honestly deserves that kick in the face._

_TheIronSpeaker: You're Yoyo. Totally different._

_TheIronSpeaker: So stop taking on the blame for your NonAwake self, because he ISN'T you._

_Yoyo'd: I..._

_Yoyo'd: ...Thank you._

_Yoyo'd: I needed to hear that._

_TheIronSpeaker: Especially from me?_

_Yoyo'd: Especially from you._

_Yoyo'd: ..._

_TheIronSpeaker: ..._

_Yoyo'd: ...okay sappy moment over._

_TheIronSpeaker: Agreed._

_TheIronSpeaker: We agree to never mention this._

_Yoyo'd: Agreed._

_Yoyo'd: And would it be weird if I wanted to actually go by Yoyo now?_

_TheIronSpeaker: ...no, it wouldn't._

* * *

**21.6**      (numair2304) **A Trip to Remember**

Ezra Woke up as he found himself watching a video log come to an end. Feeling strange in a new body and outfit he quickly glanced through his loops memories to figure out what was going on and quickly realised that he had no knowledge of this loop. After not sensing anything through the bond and setting off a Ping and getting no reply it appeared that he was the only one Awake in this loop.

According to his memories he was standing on the bridge of a spaceship in-flight as the crew prepared for their imminent arrival at another ship. Luckily the people around were more involved in talking to each other than him, which gave him a chance to study his loop memories in more detail. He kept an ear open to the conversation going on between them just in case he was brought into it.

He hadn't experienced a new loop for a while and was interested in what new technology he could study and acquire in this loop. As he looked at the ship, they were approaching to dock at, and his loop memories in more detail; he realised with glee that not only was he an engineer in this life with knowledge of most engineering systems in this loop but he was about to arrive on one of the best examples of all those systems in use as a repair detail. True they were only there to repair the communications relay but there was no reason that he wouldn't be able to look around after the repair. Besides even if he wasn't to get much free time to study the systems, he could study the engineering outfit he was dressed in. The Resource Integration Gear, or RIG for short, he was wearing seemed quite an interesting piece of kit especially the virtual storage built into the suit. The ability to store certain physical items digitally would be useful to develop back in his own loop.

Yes, Ezra Clarke was looking forward to his arrival on the USG Ishimura.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*Five minutes later.*

Ezra was starting to be unsure of his enthusiasm as the ship he was on, the USG Kellion according to his memories, nearly crashed into the side of the Ishimura during the auto dock due to a malfunction with the guidance tether. The pilot taking manual control had only just safely crash landed the Kellion which was now lying slightly on its side in the Ishimura's flight deck after coming to a grinding halt. The Port Booster, communications and autopilot were down and needed to be fixed. Still there should be equipment on board that could repair the damage. Stepping out onto the flight deck Ezra found that the damage was worse than originally realised, the Port Booster wasn't down it was gone.

Hopefully things would settle down now.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*Ten minutes later. *

Ezra ran at full speed down the corridor hearing the metal screeching around him as things started to rip their way through wall panels. Their presence was ripping at his head, making the Force teem with disgust. His heart pounding in his chest, he saw what appeared to be an waiting elevator of sorts ahead at a dead end. Reaching the lift he ran inside and started hammering on the buttons and slowly, too slowly to his mind, the doors started to close. As they were nearly closed, the sickening feeling was suddenly stronger and something started attacking the doors. Two long blades thrust themselves between the doors and started to force them open. The creature on the other side roared at him, red and yellow fluid leaking from its mouth as it pried the elevator doors all the way open. Ezra screamed and pushed at the creature with as much Force as he could muster. It went flying, slammed into the opposite wall and the doors shut again. As the elevator descended he could feel his heart pounding away, beating in double time.

"I'm never going to complain about Freddy's again." Ezra thought to himself as he calmed his heart down. "At least they can't get through the frelling walls. Now what kind of horror of a loop have I ended up in?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 21.1: This came about after reading RaphaelplusMikey's loop about all the crew being part of a Master-Padawan bond.
> 
> 21.2: Poor Kanan! At least he got revenge on Ezra. Based on 14.3. Cuccos are the new superweapon of the multiverse.
> 
> 21.3: No matter how hard you try, you'll someday end up in a punishment loop even if it was not your fault.
> 
> 21.4: The Ravine (20.1) continued.
> 
> 21.5: The idea for the sketch came to me after reading a fic called 'Apology Accepted' by Sleepless Naillil, which is set just a day after the "Star Wars Rebels" pilot episode. I wrote the first half and McRai thePrinx wrote the second.
> 
> 21.6: I will state that this is a universe I never want to find myself in. Not because of the real chance of being torn and slashed to pieces but that you would in all likelihood be going out of your mind from the mental attacks on your perception. I also think that using a lightsaber against these types of enemies would be cool, so sorry Ezra and good luck.


	22. TCAoaTTP 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Make a Connection, Stitch, Tale of Two Sist... Wait a moment, Questions, Chat, Confronting Traysis, Rebel Resolve

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**22.1** (numair2304) **Make a Connection**

"You have to make a connection-"

"Well then pass me that soldering iron." said Ezra as he worked on his latest project.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Alright." A thump was heard.

Kanan facepalmed. Why did he have to deal with an unawake Zeb as a padawan?

"When I said make a connection, I didn't mean with blunt instrument!"

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Who with?"

* * *

"You have to make a connection. Here you go."

Ezra caught the item thrown to him.

"What's this?" he said looking at the item, a book he realised.

"Something to help you learn."

Ezra read the title 'How to Make a Connection' then he noticed some smaller print beneath, 'for Dummies'.

"Seriously?"

* * *

"You have to make a connection- what are you doing?"

"Working on my social networking." Ezra typed away at his tablet.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

Ezra yelped as the creature launched itself at him, only to be completely baffled when it proceeded to purr and rub itself on him.

Kanan laughed, he had thought it worth a try to plant some catnip on Ezra's clothing.

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Канан? Почему вы так говорите?"

* * *

"Make a connection, you must-"

"Stop channelling Yoda!"

* * *

"You have to make a connection-what are you looking at?"

Kanan noticed that Ezra wasn't paying attention to the lesson, not surprising as they were both Awake, but what was surprising was that he was focused intently on something behind Kanan. Kanan quickly put two and two together and facepalmed.

_|"It's not baseline is it?"|_

_|"Doesn't appear to be."|_

"Excuse, are you Kanan Jarrus?"

"Yes, who's asking?" Kanan turned around and found himself facing a vehicle. It definitely didn't appear to be from their loop and appeared to be just an average gas powered jeep. What he didn't see was who had been talking to him a second ago.

"Down here."

He lowered his eyesight and noticed two little creatures standing just in front of the vehicle. One of them was dressed in what appeared to be a red jacket of some kind and seemed to be the one talking.

"Hello, I am Alexsander Orlov and this is Sergei." He motioned to the other one. "Recently you bought insurance through Compare the Market"

"I did?" Kanan hadn't looked too closely at his loop memories after confirming the more important ones but even so he was sure that his unAwake self hadn't bought insurance. It was not like you could even be insured against damages caused by the Empire.

The paler creature who had been referred to as Sergei held up a stuffed toy that shared his likeness.

Alexsander started talking again."Congratulations! Here is your cuddly reward from the villages of Meerkovo for knowing your meerkats from your markets."

Kanan just looked on with a blank face. He had no idea on how to react to this situation.

_|"Ezra what's going on?"|_

_|"I haven't a clue either!"|_

Sergei handed the toy over to Kanan and he took it pensively.

"It's a mini me". Sergei said with a smile.

Alexsander glanced over at Sergei, focusing on his fur, then put a hand up to one side of his mouth and whispered to Kanan.

"He may moult a bit."

With that said he climbed into the jeep's passenger seat and called to his associate.

"Come Sergei, we have other places to be."

The one called Sergei seemed to give a sigh and climbed into to the driver's seat. As the vehicle started Kanan heard over the sound of the engine Alexsander talking.

"To get exclusive meerkat toy, get insurance through Compare the Market. Simples."

As the vehicle was driven away, Kanan turned to Ezra.

"Ezra, what just happened?"

Ezra shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Uh, Kanan?" An unAwakeEzra stared behind him.

"Hey buddy. I need some help, just don't panic when you see me."

Kanan tensed as he suddenly heard a voice from behind him. He threw out his senses to detect any threat but nothing registered. He relaxed slightly maybe the multiverse had run out of things to throw at him. He quickly cursed himself for his stupidity, you shouldn't tempt fate especially with the loops. He tried to prepare for whatever the multiverse had decided to throw at him this time. He had faced Freddy Fazbear, Slendemen and Chopper in full on prank mode, he could weather this storm. Kanan steeled himself and turned to face the voice.

"I don't know where I am and I need to find my boy Charlie; can you help at all?"

Kanan looked into the smiling face of terror and fainted dead away.

"Well that's useful. Do you know hard it is to check on vitals with stick hands. Kid, could you check to see if he's ok?"

Ezra stared at the being, he knew that there was a lot of life out there in the universe but a life form that appeared to be made of snow was definitely a new one. He looked on in wonder as the living snowman hovered over Kanan trying to wake him up.

"Who are you? What are you?"

"Name's Jack Frost kid. As to why I look like this, short version the universe can be very unoriginal."

* * *

**22.2** (numair2304) **Stitch**

"You have to make a connection-"

"Uh Kanan." Ezra twitched. This was NOT baseline.

"What is it Ezra" Kanan turned around and looked down. Instead of the usual suspect, there was a new creature holding what appeared to be a book.

_|"Well this is new. What is it and why is it blue?"|_

Ezra searched his memories. The last time he had found himself in the Hub universe he had looked up as much information as he could relating to their loop. He had also started researching other fictional works to try and prepare for any future fused loop. This had included other works by Disney and he thought he recognised the little guy.

_|"I think his name is Stitch. Be silent for a bit and let me try something"|_

Ezra walked over with his hands open to try and show that he didn't mean any harm. He knelt down so that their eye levels would match.

"Hi there, my name is Ezra and this is Kanan. What's your name?"

"Stitch. My name is Stitch."

"What are you doing here?"

"Waiting."

"For what?"

"Family."

Ezra had tried a Ping but had received no response from the little blue guy. He couldn't see any signs that Stitch was Awake.  

"Do you want to travel with us? We move around a lot so we cover a lot of ground, there would be a good chance that we could run across your family."

_|"Ezra, do you think it's wise to have him travelling with us. We've not got a particularly safe lifestyle."|_

_|"Trust me Kanan, if what I remember is right Stitch should be able to look after himself. I just don't like the idea of leaving him out here on his own."|_

Stitch seemed unsure. Ezra dug into his memory, he definitely didn't want to leave the little guy here alone.

"I know what it is like to be lost; I lived alone for such a long time. I was so used to it that I didn't realise how much it hurt. I have a family now; I found it all on my own. It's little and broken but still good. My friends, they're my family now, they're my ohana. Do you know what that means?

Stitch nodded. "Ohana, ohana means family, family means that nobody gets left behind or forgotten."

"Will you let us help you? I don't want you to be left behind alone. So will you please come with us?"

Stitch seemed to make up his mind and nodded.

"Ih."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The Inquisitor grabbed the leaping fyrnock with the Force and threw it to one side

"This was your plan?"

He laughed keeping his eyes on the two seated Jedi further back in the cave.

"To lure us here and allow these creatures to do your work for you."

"Feeboogoo!"

There was a flash of blue and suddenly there was a new figure on the field standing between the Inquisitor and the rebels. Ezra was startled to see Stitch standing there with all four arms extended, ready for battle, facing down the Inquisitor. He couldn't understand how he could have missed Stitch somehow joining them in the Phantom and following them to the asteroid cave. Kanan feeling Ezra's connection drop due to his surprise boosted his own to encompass all the fyrnocks to keep them calm.

"Stitch! What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay with the rest of crew!"

Stitch didn't look back at them, keeping his gaze fixed on the Inquisitor.

"Nobody gets left behind!"

"Another creature to stand between you and defeat. How pathetic!"

The Inquisitor stepped forward and raised his lightsaber. He would slice through this new creature and get rid of the Jedi's last line of defence.

"Ika patooba!" Stitch said with a sneer not moving an inch.

The Inquisitor brought his lightsaber down hard.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan and Ezra stood side by side and looked out over the grassland. In the distance they could see Stitch being chased by an unAwake Zeb. Stitch had managed to get hold of Zeb's bo-rifle and was having a fine old time playing keepaway.

"Ezra, are you absolutely sure that he's not Awake?"

"From what I can tell he's not, he didn't react to the Ping and his soul doesn't feel that old."

"You mean this is truly his baseline abilities? Ezra, he managed to stop the Inquisitor's lightsaber with his bare hands!" While still shocked at what Stitch had done, Kanan had to admit that one of his fondest memories from now on was going to be the look on the Inquisitor's face when Stitch managed to block the lightsaber strike.

"You think that's bad. The loop he's from, a large portion of his family is made up from his fellow experiments, all of which have unique abilities and talents. If he starts looping there's a good chance that either he'll end up replacing the rest of his family through the loops and acquire their abilities or they all will start looping as well. He's number 626, you do the maths."

Kanan thought on this as he watched over the two. Zeb had now regained his bo-rifle and Stitch was now dodging blows as Zeb attacked with its staff form. There was no anger involved now however, Stitch seemed to have got Zeb to look on the lighter side and they were now seemly having a friendly spar. He considered the trouble that a new bunch of loopers with a variety of abilities could bring to the loops but in the end decided that even if the whole lot of them start looping he doubted that they would be anything like as chaotic as a looping Chopper.

* * *

**22.3** (numair2304) **Tale of Two Sist... Wait a moment**

Twilight Woke up to find herself reading the Tale of the Two Sisters again. Wait. That wasn't the tale this time.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

When Ezra arrived in Ponyville, he was interested to see Twilight on the outskirts apparently waiting for him.

"Welcome to Ponyville, Ezra. It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you again Twilight. The name's Crystal Artifice for this loop. Who else is Awake?"

"All the normal bearers and Spike. However this loop appears to be a variant which I assume has something to do with your presence. We're not dealing with a Nightmare Moon this loop but a stallion called Callous Moon."

Ezra thought on this and realised. "Oh, you've got to be kidding!"

"What do you know who it is?"

"I've got a pretty good idea. Do you mind if we mess with the timeline and grab the Elements early so that they can be used straight away?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The curtains opened to reveal an imposing stallion wreathed in jet-black armour.

**"Greeting mine subjects. At long last your true lord has returned. My Empire shall stretch beyond the stars."**

"Now!" was all that was heard before a prismatic light hit the figure. When the lightshow had died down, a much smaller figure was left kneeling on the stage.

"Ohhh. my head. Where am I? What am I?"

Ezra approached the pony. "Are you Awake? It's me, Ezra."

"Ezra? Why do look like that? Where are we? What is this place?"

"Welcome to Equestria, Yoyo. I think you'll enjoy the change of pace."

* * *

**22.4**      (numair2304) **Questions**

"Ezra?"

"Yes Kanan?"

"Why are we doing this?"

"It's a running gag that Twilight and Rarity have been doing so I thought we could try it out."

* * *

"Kanan?"

"Yes Ezra?"

"Why are Jedi and Sith armed with cutlery this loop?"

"Just focus and trust the forks."

* * *

"Kanan?"

"Yes Ezra?"

"Why in a universe that has such a wide selection of weaponry do the Jedi rely on the equivalent of swords in a gunfight?"

"Because they look cool."

* * *

"Ezra?"

"Yes Kanan?"

"You're not doing this. We're not going to let you."

"Kanan, this is the first time I have ever seen the Ghost existing as a Gunmen for real in our loop. This is a prime opportunity."

"Ezra, I don't care how unlikely a scenario it is for the Ghost to be a Gunmen in a loop. You are not going to fuse a Gunmen and a piece of the Allspark together. I heard what happened with Ranma and the Death Stars."

"Oh come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

"I heard from Hera that the last time you experimented with the Allspark we had a Transformer appear in our loop, luckily he was Awake and friendly. The way I see it you have a good chance of creating Unicron or the Anti-Spirals. The worst case scenario is that you manage to create a fusion of the two, so no experimenting with fusing Spiral Power with the Allspark."

"Aww!"

* * *

**22.5** (numair2304) **Chat**

_TheIronSpeaker: Yoyo you Awake?_

_Yoyo'd: What do you want?_

_TheIronSpeaker: We've got our fight coming up soon_

_TheIronSpeaker: I just wanted to know if you wanted an all out fight or to set some handicaps to limit the damage._

_Yoyo'd: Let me guess, Kanan had a chat with you about that asteroid blowing up last time we fought._

_TheIronSpeaker: He wouldn't shut up about it, we weren't to blame that it had a fault line through its core._

_Yoyo'd: It would be nice to go with the basics._

_Yoyo'd: Shall we say bo-rifles only and no abilities from outside loops?_

_TheIronSpeaker: Sounds fun, just make sure that your troops keep out of the way._

_Yoyo'd: I'll task them with capturing the others._

_Yoyo'd: That should occupy them completely._

_Yoyo'd: Now that's settled, I have a question for you._

_Yoyo'd: How competent do think my unawake self is at tactical decisions; avoiding the whole evil issue?_

_TheIronSpeaker: What do you mean?_

_Yoyo'd: Do you remember, during the Wookie rescue, when at the end of the encounter Kanan was standing on the Ghost a good 20 feet away from me in the air._

_Yoyo'd: Why in the world did I think it made any tactical sense to fire a blaster at him?_

_Yoyo'd: At that distance he could have dodged or deflected easily and indefinitely; with the lightsaber he couldn't have hit me at that range._

_Yoyo'd: The tactic to use should have been either focus on the kids or try to get a good hit on the Ghost itself._

_TheIronSpeaker: I understand what you mean, firing a low yield blaster at a Jedi is never a recipe for victory especially at a distance._

_TheIronSpeaer: You can make the case however that your decision making was thrown off slightly by your surprise of encountering a Jedi._

_TheIronSpeaker: What I really don't understand about that scenario is how Kanan even managed to get on top of the Ghost._

_TheIronSpeaker: I'm sure that 30 seconds earlier he was standing right beside me in the container._

* * *

**22.6** (numair2304)   **Confronting Traysis**

Down in the sewers Ezra was facing towards an extractor fan that they had just blocked their path after running from the Empire's forces. Beside him stood an Awake Hera and Senator Traysis.

"How are we getting past this thing?" Hera asked.

"We could cut its power" Ezra answered, his body and voice running through the scenario in automatic as his mind thought back on what they had planned earlier. With all of them Awake early this loop Ezra had suggested a baseline run with one exception and the others had agreed.

"That's enough. We're not going anywhere." Hearing that Ezra knew it was showtime. He turned to see Traysis holding a blaster on him and Hera, he quickly slipped into his original role.

"Whoa! Senator? What are you doing?"

"Put your saber down, boy. Now!"

"You're, you're with the Empire?"

Hera cut in. "But all your transmissions, those planets you visited. How did word not get out about you?"

Traysis was smug as he vaunted his supposed control of the situation. He bragged about his actions, seemingly proud of what he had accomplished, with Ezra inserting his own comments into the monologue keeping to the original script.

"Because no one ever knew, not even my own droids. Insurgents are not arrested. They're identified and watched. The troublesome ones have accidents after I'm gone."

"But you're not a traitor. You're a voice of freedom, a light in the darkness, like my parents!"

"Parents? No one has spoken against the Empire on Lothal since the Bridger transmissions. I remember them. The original voices of freedom. You're their son."

"Why? Why?!"

"I joined the Empire like your parents should have for their lives, for you. Your parents were very brave and very foolish. Where are they now? I'll tell you, my boy. They're gone!" At that Ezra had to hold himself back, to stay in character, even with the loops the chances of him locating his parents was slim to nonexistent.

"They're not gone, Trayvis." Hera started walking towards Trayvis. He aimed the blaster at her, a slight fear appearing on his face.

"Stop right there!"

"As long as we fight, all that they spoke out for lives on."

"I said stop!" Traysis pulled the trigger but all that came from the blaster was a click. "What?" He tried the trigger again frantically. "No!"

Hera retrieved the blaster from him with her right hand before following up with a punch to his face from her left. Though she was tempted to put all her strength behind the blow she held back, using just enough force to definitely leave a mark but not enough to render him unconscious. Traysis hit the floor hard clutching his bruised face.

"A true rebel would know if he's holding a charged blaster."

Ezra switched back to the conversation, glad that the acting was now over. "Thank you for proving our suspicions, Senator, too many of your leads turned out to be Imperial traps. Did you get all that Chopper?" Ezra looked up behind Traysis high on the wall where the droid was perched just inside of one of the pipe openings.

["Yep, even got multiple angle shots for editing later."]

Traysis, still on the floor holding his face, heard only the usual chirps and whistles in the reply and took a while to realise what Ezra had asked. "Got what?"

Hera took over. "We got it all Traysis, a full confession recorded, oh and by the way congratulations Senator that just went live to the Empire. We piggybacked on your broadcast, now everyone knows the truth about you."

"What are you going to do with me?" There was only fear left in Traysis's face, it appeared that he was the kind of individual who could be brave only when he thought he had an advantage over the opponent.

"We'll leave you to explain to the Empire how easily you gave away their methods for locating rebels and how they're dealt with. I suspect the Empire won't be happy with you."

They vacated the area leaving Traysis just sitting there, looking at the ground with a blank stare, seemingly unable to cope with the new future ahead of him.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Later the whole Awake crew was watching the edited production, Chopper had even included subtle music cues for changes in the plot's direction. One scene of particular note was Hera's punch shown in slow-motion making contact with Traysis' cheek. After the film finished the protagonists took a bow to applause from the rest of the crew. Ezra finished with "I would like to thank all of you for your participation. I would also like to say that all credits for this fine piece of work go to Hera for her acting skills, Chopper for his excellent camera work and editing skills; and Yoyo for leading the search party in the wrong direction to buy us time"

* * *

**22.7**      (numair2304) **Rebels Resolve**

Ezra paced around the lounge swearing under his breath as he linked up with this loop's memories. He had Woken up late this loop and been unable to prevent Kanan's capture and the destruction of the comms tower by the Empire. He hated Waking up so late in the loop as there was no real time left to rescue Kanan depending on if they could even find him. It didn't help that they had to go through the process of sending Chopper in undercover to extract the location of Kanan's imprisonment. Even with the foreknowledge that Kanan was held onboard Governor Tarkin's StarDestroyer, the Sovereign, that didn't guarantee a rescue as the location of the ship could alter depending on the loop; in one bad case the information they'd acquired stated that Kanan had been sent straight to the Mustafar system after his capture. In any normal situation he could have hacked the information out of the Empire's datanet in less than ten seconds but thanks to the Empire always taking out their own comms tower, the datanet was down and he couldn't hack what wasn't there. He also couldn't track him down through their padawan bond as Kanan was usually too weak for him to detect unless he was close enough. He had promised himself that he would make sure that they would rescue Kanan but the simple truth of the matter was that, unless Kanan or Yoyo Woke up, there was little chance of them locating Kanan, let alone rescuing him before the loop ended. He resolved to try better this loop; he wouldn't let Kanan remain the Empire's prisoner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 22.1: Making a Connection cont. Can't escape from advertising even in the multiverse.
> 
> 22.2: Originally this started as just another Making a Connection gag but as I developed the sketch ideas kept coming. When I first started writing the inclusion of Stitch into the connection running gag it was just a bit of fun, but as I developed the sketch more the idea grew. I realised that there were some parallels between Ezra and Stitch. Both of them were alone and though they didn't realise it at first they hated being lonely. They gained a family as time went on. An unconventional family true but a family nonetheless. I also want to say that if people complain and say that he shouldn't be able to stop a lightsaber like that, I would like it noted that he can juggle plasma blasts with his bare hands in his original story. Just in case people don't know what Stitch is saying here's the translations:  
> Ih - Yes  
> Feeboogoo - Bring it on  
> Ika patooba - Baldy. 
> 
> 22.3: Yoyo gets a holiday in a sanctuary loop.
> 
> 22.4: Just a bit of fun that I thought of after reading through Saproneth's MLP loops again. Not sure that it works, so would welcome reviews.
> 
> 22.5: Just a question I've been wondering myself since I watched Spark of Rebellion again recently.
> 
> 22.6: Part of me wishes that Hera could have hit him harder but getting Traysis in trouble with the Empire is also good.
> 
> 22.7: Into Rebels Resolve now. I'm hoping to move the plot along especially since I haven't allowed myself to watch the next season until I finish the loop to that point so that the story will still be fresh and new to me.


	23. TCAoaTTP 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We Could Be Heroes , Death and Decay, Fire Across the Galaxy

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**23.1     [We Could Be Heroes. 16.1 continued]** (numair2304)

"By the way you haven't really gone into detail of what your loop is really about. I mean you mentioned Baymax being converted into a superhero..."

"He's glorious by the way. Rocket fist make Freddie so happy." interjected Fred with a dreamy look on his face.

Ezra waited but Fred seemed to be finished and took back over the conversation. "Right. So I assume that means that you most likely have your own super villain."

"Unfortunately yes." Tadashi answered.

"I call him Yokai." said Fred gesturing with a dramatic arm sweep.

Tadashi looked disgruntled. "Yes, him. Fred what do think, safe to talk here or head to home base?"

"Should be safe but why take risks. Besides it always fun to see the looks on their faces when they see home base."

"True, I'll pick up Baymax and we'll head out there."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Fred faced the group and opened his arms wide. "Ah, welcome to mi casa!" he said ending his sentence with a bow as a final flourish.

Ezra looked around at all the non-loopers, all had dropped jaws and a slightly shocked look. He shared a look with Sabine.

_|"I see what he means, that is quite an amusing look for them."|_

_|"I agree though I don't understand why the extreme reaction though. I mean it appears to be just a large home."|_

_|"Probably something about Fred's standing in the group that we don't get without the context."|_

Wasabi appeared to recover the quickest. "Fred really, I mean the concept of time loops is one thing but this.." He cut off as the front door opened and a butler appeared in the opening.

"Welcome home, Master Fredrick."

"Heathcliff my man!" Fred exclaimed.

"Come on in, guys. We'll be safe to talk here." Fred held out a fist to Heathcliff. "Gimme some." Heathcliff performed a fistbump.

Ezra at the back of the pack had a smile on his face. Glancing back he had caught Baymax fist-bumping Heathcliff before saying "Balalalala."

They followed Fred as he led them through the house leaving the entrance hall and heading down a side corridor.

"Will your parents mind us turning up here?"

"They're on a vacay on the family island. I planned on inviting you all there next month to frolic."

He stopped just before a closed door at the end of the corridor.

"Welcome to home base." He clapped twice and the door automatically opened revealing a decent sized room.

Tadashi was the first in. "Any changes to the decor, Fred?"

"Haven't had a chance to change anything yet."

Wasabi was staring at a painting on the wall, it appeared to feature Fred but with a musculature that seemed more suitably for the Hulk..

"If I hadn't just been shown that video about the time loops, I think this would be the weirdest thing I've seen today."

After Fred had fetched refreshment and everybody had sat down Tadashi started talking.

"Everyone comfortably? Right then before all these time loops began..."

"Think of it as the baseline." Ezra interjected.

Tadashi paused in thought, nodded and resumed speaking. "Ok, this how it goes in the baseline."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

" _What do you **MEAN** in that in the baseline you die in a fire and we have to fight an ACTUAL SUPERVILLAIN?!_"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine reviewed Tadashi's explanation of the loop's history in her head.

"So to recap Yokai steals Hiro's Microbots, your death being a side effect, sets himself up as a supervilllain and after several encounters Hiro, Baymax and your friends finally defeat him at Krei Tech during the final stage of his scheme."

"In a nutshell yes."

Ezra considered all of this and asked the question he noted that Tadashi had avoided answering "But who is Yokai though, I'm sure that you know who he really is."

Tadashi sagged. "Right then Yokai, well simply put he's Professor Callaghan."

To say that there was a explosion of discord from the non-loopers would be an understatement.

"But how could..."

"Why would..."

Tadashi interrupted. "Guys I get where you coming from. It was a major shock to me the first time I looped through. I avoided the fiery death and ended up having to fight against my mentor alongside the group. I will admit that I found it satisfying to land a punch on him."

Honey looked shocked at this."Tadashi it's Professor Callaghan, surely you don't want to hurt him?"

Tadashi stood up. "Do you know how proud I am of Hiro. My last words to Hiro in baseline were 'Someone has to help'. After I Woke up and Baymax filled me in on events about Hiro and what he, what all of you had accomplished I was so happy.. He took what I said and truly made it his own policy in the baseline. Callaghan though, in his self-righteous quest for revenge hurt so many people. I don't really blame him for the fire as it was my choice to return into the building, at the time I was just trying to help someone. However what I truly can't forgive him for; my mentor, the man I looked up to, tried to kill my little brother and friends just for observing his actions."

Silence followed this speech and Ezra couldn't help sharing a look with Sabine.

_|"Quite a bit of anger there."|_

_|"Mixed in with sadness and pity too."|_

_|"Shall we try to improve the mood?"|_

_|"Lets."|_

Ezra started "Well that was how it could have been, now I assume that you have a plan to deal with the loops usual problems."

Sabine took over "But since we're the new kids on the block as it were, what do you say to having a major changeup."

Tadashi stared at them. "How would you suggest we do that?"

"Well we appear to have full access to our subspace pockets." As he talked Ezra pulled out a lightsaber and lit it in front of them. "So what do you guys and girls think about working with technology that's different from your tech level and make the expo an experience to remember."

Fred laughed excitedly. "Oh-ho yeah, I like where this heading..."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_They say we are what we are_

_But we don't have to be_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Honey stepped out of the workshop smiling to herself. She and Tadashi had been working together building her equipment, it had been fun to work on something like that and she had been able to get Tadashi to laugh a bit. Ever since that talk about Callaghan, Tadashi was moodier than usual.

"Hey can I talk to you for a moment?"

She turned to see Gogo... wait that wasn't right. She meant Sabine, standing there. Honey hesitated still unsure how to act around this new girl who had apparently replaced one of her friends this loop.

Sabine caught on to her hesitation. "You're finding it a bit confusing this situation, aren't you?"

"It's just that I've known you for 2 years now but Tadashi says that you're replacing Gogo but to me you are Gogo and it's very confusing."

"So how about a fresh start."

"What do you mean?"

"Hola mi nombre es Sabine. Me gustaria ser tu amigo." Sabine replied in Spanish.

Honey smiled.

"Es un placer conocerte Sabine. Mis amigos me llaman Honey Lemon. No sabía que usted hablaba español."

Sabine switched back to English

"I remembered that you spoke Spanish and thought you would enjoy a chat in your native tongue. I'm still learning it though."

Honey looked excited. "I can help you with that!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_I'm bad behaviour but I do it in the best way_

_I'll be the watcher (watcher) of the eternal flame_

_I'll be the guard dog of all your fever dreams_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine looked at Tadashi, her expression askance, as he nervously held up a hand scanner. Everyone else had been scanned and there was only her and Ezra left.

"Arms up. We want to get a good scan if we're to make you equipment."

She just turned her face to Ezra, standing beside her, and saw the grin on his face.

"I do have a spare set of armour stored you know, I don't really need equipment made."

Ezra pouted. "Come on Sabine, we might as well enjoy what this loop has to offer."

_|"All right, all right. I'll do it but only if you promise not to do that face again this loop."|_

_|"Deal!"|_ Ezra chirped through the bond. "Ok Tadashi we're ready."

The scan was over quickly and Tadashi lowered the scanner.

"And that's the scan done, now have either had any thoughts of what you what you want to use gadget wise. Hiro usually rode shotgun with Baymax and Gogo focused on high speed."

Ezra spoke first. "Well, I don't mind working with Baymax. I've never paired up with a superhero robot before, I mean there was Chopper but that was a partnership for pranks more than anything else."

Tadashi remembered what Ezra had told him about Chopper and winced "Right you mentioned him, please don't corrupt Baymax while you're here."

Ezra spluttered. "What do you mean?"

Tadashi just gave him a look and turned his attention to Sabine.

"Yeah, I remember what Gogo was working on, it was interesting but high speed not really my thing, I mean it sounds cool but not me."

"So what do you enjoy in your home loop?"

"Painting and explosions, sometimes the two combined."

"Why... never mind. If you want to focus on explosives you'd probably want to talk to Honey, her chem-bombs are probably a similar technique."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_(oh...) I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass. (glass, glass)_

_(oh...) I'll try to picture me without but I can't_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine looked over Honey's costume. Tadashi had put the final touches to her battle armour last night and she was now wearing the full ensemble.

"So how exactly do your chem-bombs work?"

"I love chemistry and the variety that they give me is a major advantage, at least that's what Tadashi says. The MCL here.." she said gesturing to her purse

"Sorry MCL?"

"Oh, mini-chemical lab. It's fed empty capsules from the strap and the touch screen on the side allows me to inject various chemicals into them."

"Interesting. So can have a demonstration?"

"Sure, I think Fred set up some training dummies in the garden."

"Lead the way."

The grounds of the mansion were quite extensive and featured a walled garden, just as been stated a set of training dummies held central position in the middle of the garden. Sabine watched with interest as they were subjected to an assortment of attacks all coming from the girl beside her, flame, ice and foam amongst them.

"I see what you mean about variety. There is one thing I noticed all the effects seem to be concentrated on a single target. What happens if you need to seal a groups movements?"

"That's something to think about, I mean I could just a smokescreen to block their sight but that would still leave them free."

"Have you considered that you could increase the yield by.."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_'Cause we could be immortals, immortals_

_Just not for long, for long_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra and Tadashi were just doing a test run of Fred's suit with him wearing it. Ezra finished making a few connections.

"How's that feel.." The ground shook and they heard a solid boom in the background. "What the..?"

In the aftermath of the noise, Ezra thought that he heard Honey yelling. "WOO! Now THAT'S a chemical reaction!"

Ezra shivered.

"Please don't tell me that there's another upcoming Trixie out there."

"Who?" Tadashi asked in confusion.

"Pray you don't find out."

Tadashi just looked at Ezra's drawn face and decide not to continue the topic, instead he focused on the present problem.

"Right I betting the whole neighbourhood and possibly the entire city heard that. How do we deal with that?"

""I'll just tell them I was trying to gain superpowers again, they'll just give me the usual fine for the noise." Fred told them nonchalantly.

"Fred just what do you get up to in your free time?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_And if we meet forever now, pull the blackout curtains down_

_Just not for long, for long_

_We could be immortals, immortals, immortals, immortals_

_(Immortals)_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Tadashi sat on the grass outside looking up at the sky. Everything seemed to be working out fine, the group was getting along well with the replacement members and everybody was enjoying the tech they were working on.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

He turned his head to the side and saw his brother's replacement standing there.

He went back to staring at the sky. "I don't mind, it's up to you."

He felt Ezra sit down beside him. After a few minutes of silence he heard a slight cough.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"What's eating you up inside."

Tadashi started. He faced Ezra and saw a solemn look on his face.

"There's nothing wrong with me."

Ezra gave a wry grin.

"Everybody here has noticed just by your body language that you're not in the best mood. Besides that I think I mentioned that I was a Jedi in my home loop, among the abilities that come with that label are being able to read people empathically. Normally it's very low-level and takes years to develop it to a standard where it's actually useful but thanks to the loops I've had plenty of time to work on it. I can feel when your emotions are agitated and they haven't been stable since you talked about Callaghan. So do you want to talk about it?"

Tadashi sighed.

"How do you cope with it?"

"With what?"

"These loops. I would be one thing if time was just looping but the fact that people aren't always Awake just makes me...I don't know. Hiro has never mentioned it but we think the first time he Woke up, he died in the fire as well trying to save me. Baymax remembers a loop when he came out of standby mode to find Aunt Cass alone in the house crying her heart out and neither of us around. I'm supposed to be his big brother and protect him. How can I protect him when I'm not even there half the time?"

"I don't really have an answer for that, all I can give you is my opinion. Look at it like this, yes there are times when you won't be there to protect Hiro, but you've given Hiro a brilliant support group. Even if your friends aren't Awake they support Hiro and Baymax is the anchor, he always Awake. Don't get distracted by the what ifs, the could ifs and if onlys. Trust that Baymax will try his hardest to protect Hiro to the best of his abilities when you're not around."

Tadashi sighed again, he knew that there was still a problem but thinking about his friends how could he not trust them to look after Hiro.

"Thanks for the talk."

"It's no problem, it's like you said. Someone has to help."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_Sometimes the only payoff for having any faith_

_Is when it's tested again and again everyday_

_I'm still comparing your past to my future_

 

"Fred, would you stop playing that song at all hours!" Wasabi yelled in annoyance.

"It's great isn't it?" Fred drawled with a smile. "I've decided it's our origin song."

"Fred, you've been playing the same song for the last 102 hours, 26 minutes and 12 seconds; if you don't stop I will LASER-HAND you in the face!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Professor Callaghan wandered around the exhibits studying them with an experienced eye. So far he hadn't seen anything that could help him with his plans of revenge against Alistair Krei but he held out hope that something would show up. He noticed a group close to the stage, wasn't that Tadashi and his friends? Why were they here with Tadashi's Baymax project. The answer to that question appeared to be the next person on the stage.

"Hi, my name is Hiro Hamada and I've been working on something that I think is pretty cool. I hope you like it."

The tarp next to him was pulled off revealing two objects of a very familiar design.

"I bring you the next step in transportation. This machine is able to link to its counterpoint creating a wormhole giving you the ability to move anything anywhere with ease."

Callaghan froze, his mind crystallizing on what had been just been said. He was unable to act as Hiro pressed a button. On one of the devices a portal opened but in the second nothing.

"Well that wasn't supposed to happen, sorry folks I don't know why the other portal isn't activating."

There was movement in the crowd and the white marshmallow robot was pointing.

"My sensor is detecting signs of life."

Callaghen was startled out of his daze. 'What?'

Hiro gestured to the open portal. "Coming from there?"

"The life signs are female. She appears to be in hyper-sleep."

_That couldn't be, she was dead. He needed revenge._

"We better check on it. LOKI could you fly into the portal and check."

There was a whistle and what appeared to be a trashcan on wheels appeared out of Tadaeshi's group. After a beep thrusters appeared on its struts and it took off disappearing into the portal.

Seconds passed in what felt like years and a familiar capsule came through the portal, a young woman held within it.

_That couldn't be his daughter, his daughter was dead and he needed to get revenge_

"Baymax!"

The capsule was opened and the Baymax robot was hovering over the girl, his glowing hands held over her.

"Miss, can you hear me? What is your name?"

Callaghan felt his mind racing jumping from one extreme to another.

_Krei deserves to be punished_

_That's..._

_Punished for destroying my light_

_my..._

_I want vengeance_

_daughter..._

_I deserve veng..._

_Abi..._

_I need..._

_Abigail_

Callaghan shattered the ice that seemed to be holding him down.

"Abigail!"

The girl stirred and blearily opened her eyes.

"Dad?"

The scene broke and people started reacting.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra watched as a tearful Callaghan hugged his daughter, not looking like he was going to let go anytime soon. He noticed Tadashi standing beside him.

"I thought you wanted to punish Callaghan?"

"I do but he hasn't done anything yet this loop even though he was planning to. Besides it wouldn't be fair on Abigail to take her father away from her after what she has been through. That's not fair on her. Revenge is a hollow victory."

"There are other ways of getting some payback you know."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what we have to deal with in our home loop. What we usually do is pull pranks on high rank members of the Empire such as the Inquisitor and Agent Kallus. It helps us get some revenge for the stuff that they put us through without causing them serious physical injury though mental trauma is a possibility."

Tadashi considered this and after hearing a few examples of pranks pulled on the Inquisitor and Agent Kallus found himself agreeing with the suggestion. He addressed the group.

"There's a good few months left until the loop finishes, I propose that we prank Callaghan for the rest of the loop. All those in favour."

Not a single hand remained down.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Later Tadashi and Ezra were walking around alone outside enjoying the break in the fresh air.

"So do you think that I'll be accepted into SFIT?"

"I don't see why not you demonstrated a impressive use of varied tech just for one project, shields, robotics, quantum tunnelling, and reunited Callaghan with his daughter." Tadashi smiled. "You did all that and with your fly down for the whole show."

"Ha, ha hilarious." Ezra couldn't help glancing down however and saw that it was true. "WHAT?!" Tadashi collapsed with laughter as Ezra quickly zipped up his trousers. "Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

Through his laughter Tadashi managed to stutter out. "Hiro had the same thing happen to him his very first show."

* * *

**23.2     [Death and Decay. 21.6 continued]** (numair2304)

In the descending lift Ezra had managed to control his breathing and calm himself down. Nothing screamed imminent danger to him and now that he had a moment's peace he could take stock of this whole situation.

_'What do I have to work with here. I still have my Force abilities to an acceptable degree, not my best but definitely better than baseline. Access to my Subspace Pocket seems to be negated.'_

That had come as a major shock to Ezra as when the things had started ripping through the vents he had tried reaching for a weapon but had been unable to withdraw anything.

_'Probably a Null Loop, have to test that later.'_

He felt the elevator start to slow its descent and heard yelling.

"Is someone there? Hello?"

Finally someone who might have a clue what was going on around here.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The ship groaned, creaks and thumps echoing off each other filling the unsettling surroundings with noise. There was a haze to the air, water leaking from cracked pipes and exposed wiring. Flickering emergency lighting, low visibility, the place was a nightmare for the senses. The Ishimura was a slaughter house filled with the dead and dying. The creatures trying to kill who was left alive, the dead crew twisted into new forms. The man he had heard calling had fallen victim to one before he could reach him. The only apparent method to take them down was to separate their limbs from the main torso and even that he was sure was a delaying tactic rather than a true victory, if had the means and the time he would burn the remains to ash. Areas he passed through on return trips were often clear of remains and he highly doubted the janitors were still working.

There was a twisting mental field of sorts pervading about the ship. He could feel it on the edge of his mind, like wisps of mist, trying to latch on to an idea or an image. A subtle whispering just on the edge of perception, close enough that you felt that if you just tried hard enough you could understand it. He hated to think what it could do to a person without any kind of mental defence or natural immunity.

He had been contacted by Hammond and Kendra soon after his elevator ride and he was glad to see that they had survived. Something however was wrong with his communication systems, it was only working one way. He could be contacted and could hear the individual on the other end but not the reverse. With them stuck in quarantine and him unable to response to them, he had been sent to repair the ship's localised transport system. All he had to do right now was get the tram line fixed, once that was done it should be easier to move around the ship and find out just exactly what was going on.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The tramline was fixed and he was on his way to the Medical Deck. Hammond and Kendra had gone on ahead to the bridge. They were all still in a bad situation but there was some good news. After some tests he had found he could still place items into his Pocket, he just couldn't retrieve them. He had even managed to arm himself enough for his own satisfaction.. First with the loop's termed Plasma Cutter, then soon after finding a worktable he had managed to craft the local tech equivalent of a lightsaber. Luckily some of the local tools had been based on plasma core technology, the locals had managed to utilize plasma energy but had been unable to stabilise its structure into a solid form instead using it as a ranged cutting beam. He had managed to stabilise the output of one of the cores and using a power node as a power source had fashioned it into a plasma blade. It was no way near the work of art as a true blade but it got the job done. Having a familiar weapon on hand put him at ease and while the suit was restrictive he had freedom to flow through various katas when facing his foes. He could even locate them due to the sickening feeling that they gave off. It had proven incredible useful for anticipating ambushes. 

As the tram approached the Medical Deck Ezra reviewed what he had to do. Gaining access to a data terminal he had managed to hack a few systems, annoyingly a lot of the key systems required a key code stored on an executive rig. So he had no choice but to acquire the captain's personal rig. Where from? Why no less than the ship's morgue of course, this wasn't going to be fun. Stepping off the tram he could hear gentle sobs almost drowned out by the buzz of flies drawn to rotten flesh.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The woman's death had unsettled Ezra, there was nothing he could have done for her, her body was already shutting down when he reached her but it still left a bad feeling. The blood stains on the exposed surfaces and the filled body bags that covered the room hadn't helped either, and now Hammond and Kendra had gotten separated. Hammond had contacted him upset with what had happened before telling him about a barricade the crew had built blocking his path to the morgue. As Hammond explained his solution involving thermite, Ezra ignited his blade. The makeshift barricade fell easily to the plasma blade and he smiled to himself at the surprise in Hammond's voice when he realised he was already through, next stop the morgue.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

By the time he left the Medical Deck, Ezra had been able to discover more about the ongoing situation from the data logs he had found. He was upset that so far he hadn't been able to save any of the Ishumara's crew he had come across, whenever he got within sight of one they were already on their death bed's and the best he could do was to be there for them as they breathed their last. or they had committed suicide unable to deal with the madness surrounding them. The madness right, he had found a name for the infected, the science crew studying the problem had been using the name Necromorphs to describe these forms. These Necromorphs were linked to an artefact discovered on the planet, something called The Marker.

Looking at data from the research wing he had come across a shock, someone on board had been studying the infection but not to stop it. No, this mad man was working on how to encourage it, improve on it. He wasn't sure who the individual was though. Doctor Mercer seemed to the most likely candidate based on the files and someone had definitely been moving around in the background while he had been on the Medical Deck. The body bags that had filled the tram station and reception were gone, removed by the time he returned from the morgue, he would have gone searching for whoever it was but a hasty message from Hammond soon had him focused on other priorities. The ship's engines and anti-gravity had gone offline, they were now in a decaying orbit around Aegis VII. He had to get to the Engineering Deck and get them back online.

Just before Ezra boarded the tram he looked at where the woman's body had been. He didn't know who she had been and now he was likely to never find out.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The Leviathan gave one final dwindling roar and fell silent. Ezra breathed a sigh of relief. The last five hours had been hectic. It had been a whirlwind of disasters threatening their survival, one after another, he had had no choice but to flow with the events. All the key systems required to keep the Ishimura operating safely in space kept failing and had to be repaired; the engines, antigravity centrifuge, asteroid defence system and hydroponics. What was worse was that in the case of at least two of them sabotage had caused the existing problem. Unless the necromorphs were hiding a knowledge of basic mechanics someone aboard the Ishimura was trying to bring the ship down, whether they intended to aid or hinder the infection was unknown.

Talking of sabotage he had found the culprit for those experiments on improving the necromorphs, a Dr. Challus Mercer. While back on the Medical Deck to collect some materials to aid with the repairs the mad man had confronted him, spouting religious fanaticism about sacrificing humanity to the infection. Ezra would have dealt with him then but had to focus on the man's creation. The mad doctor's so-called Hunter, a necromorph with enhanced healing abilities, every time Ezra had removed a limb the thing regrew it at speed. He had pondered how the creature was creating the new biomass, but in the end its regeneration hadn't saved it. He had chosen the extreme approach, cut it into small pieces and then burned those pieces to ash with a flamethrower he'd recently gained and enhanced. Mercer had been in radio contact for a long time after that screaming abuse over the loss of one of God's children as he put it. The doctor had even vented the Medical Deck's atmosphere in an attempt to kill him but the suit's inbuilt air supply and his own breathing control meant there was little chance of him suffocating. Mercer had got away but he would likely have to deal with the man if his self named beloved children didn't get him first.

At least now the ship's systems should be stable enough to prevent environmental death but while they had been dealing with those problems, the place was getting worse. The infection, necromorph moss, Corruption, whatever you wanted to call it was starting to grow on the walls, spreading through the interior of the Ishimura like a cancer. The sickening mental field reached everywhere on the Ishimura though it was strongest around amidships, around the Cargo Hold where the Marker was supposedly stored. He could easily block it but it remained there in the background like nails on a blackboard. One trick he had discovered was that hiding his Force presence decreased the amount of necromorphs drawn to his location, the opposite was also true that by broadcasting his location in the Force the forces in the area would congregate to him. It was a useful trick to have, choosing whether to avoid conflict or confront the enemy to decrease their numbers. This had proven particularly useful when Hammond had started moving around the ship to help with the problems, Ezra had been able to draw the local necromorphs away from his location.

The man stood nearby catching his breath after the latest ordeal, Ezra had told him that he didn't mind facing the Leviathan alone but Hammond had insisted on helping. Hammond was a good ally to have in this place, the man was focused on a goal and didn't stop pushing towards it, even to the detriment of his own being. He smiled thinking back, when he had met back up with the guy on the bridge he had ended dragging Hammond to the nearby ship's Store to force him into a full body RIG.

*start flashback*

Ezra entered the bridge looking for Hammond. Before he had gone two steps there was a slam and directly in front of him a piece of asteriod debris punched through the ceiling before continuing on through the floor. In the sudden adrenaline rush Ezra heard the ship's automated voice system pipe up.

"Warning Hull breach detected."

Calming down Ezra thoughts turned sarcastic. _'Really you think?'_ His comms then activated and Daniels was on the line.

"Ezra. Impact on the bridge directly at your feet."

_'What is this? Stating the obvious time. Next thing you know Hammond will be calling in.'_

He paused, nothing happened. After waiting for what seemed looking back an embarrassing amount of time he started walking. He made his way swiftly to the Captain's Nest and opened its door.

Inside he saw Hammond jump slightly before quickly glancing towards the now open door. Seeing Ezra standing there he turned his attention back to the terminal he was working on.

"Ezra. Damm, you scared me. This place is making me jumpy. Fucking asteroids coming through the roof."

Ezra gave a wry smirk as he entered the room.

"Yeah I know one came down twenty feet in front of me." He moved opposite Hammond getting a view of the man's eyes. "By the way I heard that mess earlier with Kendra. I don't want to point fingers but I have to ask, did you know anything about this?"

Hammond sighed.

"Look, I know Kendra doesn't trust me, but I don't know anything about a Marker or anything else. This was supposed to be a repair mission, plain and simple."

Ezra had been studying him carefully both with his eyes and the Force during his explanation and had come to two conclusions. Either Hammond had missed his calling as both an actor and upcoming Sith at hiding his intentions or he was telling the absolute truth.

"I believe you."

"Thanks you. This mess" Hammond said working at the terminal, "is the Asteroid Defence System. I can fix these boards, but the main power routing is shot. You're going to have to re-route them manually through at least three junction boxes to activate the primary cannon. Oh, but first you need to activate the Atrium elevators from Bridge Security. You can use them to get to the junction boxes. By the way, Ezra. Be careful. I saw something out there. I don't know what. I only got a glimpse, but it was big. Really big."

Ezra put on a serious expression.

"Ok I'll clear that, but straight after that we're getting you in an RIG with an air supply."

Hammond looked up at Ezra in surprise. He gesticulated to the display.

"But I need to get this done. The ADS needs..."

Ezra interrupted.

"Hammond, there are already holes all over this ship. Taking a few minutes to make sure you can breathe is not going to change a thing! You in a bodysuit now!"

*end flashback*

Hacking the Store to upgrade Hammond's RIG had been easy. The man had grumbled for a while after but while dealing with the mess hydroponics had become, he had accepted that it had been a smart idea. The rotten air would have been most likely deadly without it. Ezra's comms lit up, Daniels was on the line. Oh that was right, Kendra was alive and safe. She had barricaded herself inside the computer core and re-established contact with them. He switched his attention to the video call.

"Ezra, you did it! Hammond? Do you read? Oxygen levels are returning to normal. Dammit! He's gone again! No sign of his RIG anywhere!"

Wait what? He looked across at the Hammond, yes the man was still standing there looking confused by the video call's words. Kendra carried on speaking.

"It's up to us now. I've got a plan to get off this ship! I've located an SOS beacon on the Mining Deck. If you can get down there and activate it, we might be able to send a distress call." There was a thump in the background. "Oh god. I don't know how much longer that door will hold..."

As the video call was terminated Ezra and Hammond shared a look of confusion. What in the world was going on?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra moved along the Mining Deck looking for the SOS beacon. After Kendra's message he had checked Hammond's RIG and found that yes it's signal was being blocked  but, and this was the kicker, it's signal was being blocked from the computer core where Kendra was. What was she up to? After a debate Hammond agreed that while Ezra followed up on the beacon he would search for a way off this ship. Both would keep their eyes open for whatever Kendra was planning while keeping in contact via a comset that Ezra had assembled from some of the dead crew's RIGs. Hopefully he would launch the beacon, Hammond would find an escape vehicle and nothing would go wrong.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra woozily regained conscious and found himself lying on the floor. He cast his mind back to what happened and groaned. Why did he tempt fate? The beacon had been successfully launched and after moving some arrays into position outside communications had been established. The ship underway, the USM Valor, had however already been overrun by the infection carried to them via one of the Ishimura's launched life pods. With no one on board piloting the thing the USM Valor had stayed on its previous flight path and collided with the Ishimura itself. The resulting impact had been strong to send him flying out of the ADS seat he was in and knock him out for a spell. He groggily got back to his feet and winced as an audio feed activated.

"Ezra! Ezra, are you there?" That was Hammond, but over the RIG communication.

"I'm here. Just rattled."

"Thank god you'll all right! I'm been trying to reach you! Someone's been blocking my RIG signal remotely. That crash must have interrupted the signal block."

Kendra joined in the conversation. "Hammond! Where have you been?"

"Surviving, barely." Hammond coughed wetly, it sounded fake to Ezra. "I found some med supplies and patched myself up. Listen. I'm calling abort on the mission. Fuck the CEC and fuck chain of command. We have to get the hell out of here! I think I've located a shuttle on the Crew Deck. The flight log says it need a new singularity core, but we can probably salvage on from the Valor. I can see the tail-end of it sticking out of the side of the Ishimura. I'm heading down there now to find a way inside. I'll meet you there. Hammond out."

"Ezra, if what he says is true about the shuttle, then we might have a chance of getting out of here. Head to the cargo bay and see if you can help Hammond. In his condition, he may not last long."

As the link shut down, the separate comset on Ezra's belt beeped. Ezra answered it and heard Hammond's voice down the line.

"So how was my acting?" Ezra was sure he heard a smirk in that voice.

"Well Kendra bought it, though I think you need some work. What's the plan?"

"Exactly as stated. We'll give Kendra the benefit of the doubt for now, but keep an eye on her actions. We don't know for sure it was her blocking my signal even if it was coming from the computer core."

"Ok meet you onboard the Valor, but Hammond!"

"Hmm?"

"Just stay safe."

"Try my best. Hammond out."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra sighed deeply, that had been close. He had nearly lost Hammond aboard the Valor during their retrieval of the Singularity Core. A Necromorph Brute had cornered the man in the drive room and another clear barrier separated them. In desperation Ezra had grabbed hold of as much Force as he could gather and pushed with everything he had. He had nearly lost consciousness in the process but it had saved Hammond. One moment the Brute had been about to crush Hammond, the next it was lifted off the floor and sent barrelling backwards at high velocity. The impact it had with the wall in its flight path left quite a sizable impression in the metal. It had been stunned rather than finished but the time it took to restart the conflict allowed Ezra to cut through the barrier and join Hammond.

Hammond hadn't come out of the fight uninjured however and was now on his last dregs of energy. Ezra had ordered him to retreat to the shuttle and wait inside until they left. Ignoring Hammond's protestations that he could still help Ezra had stated not only did he not want to see the man die after surviving so much, he wanted Hammond to guard the shuttle in case of a double cross. The Valor's logs had stated that they knew about the likelihood of an infection outbreak before even shocking into the system. Hammond caught his meaning and agreed, Ezra setting up Hammond's RIG to broadcast that his vitals had flat lined. Their subsequent escape from the Valor had been harrowing to say the least, the ship had been racked by multiple explosions due to a catastrophic failure in its fuel containment, but they had pushed on and had successfully reached the comparative safety of the Ishimura. The newly acquired Core secure, they needed to head for the Crew Deck.

A new twist had been added however. While he had been aboard the Valor, a Ishimura survivor had made radio contact with him asking for his help, a Doctor Terrance Kyne. The man had appeared sane if a little emotional, but then again the last doctor he talked to was definitely not the poster mark for sanity. He would have to wait and see what Kyne wanted.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"What do you cling to when all must seem so utterly hopeless around you?"

On the Crew Deck he had come across the lunatic, Mercer, again but this time he wasn't the one being focused on. No, the man had someone tied to a chair, gagged to prevent speech. The man fought against his bonds staring at Mercer with a combination of fear and anger.

"Dr Cross was true believer. She had faith. And now she awaits her transformation. Her rebirth. Are you ready ascend, Mr Temple?"

Jacob Temple the man whose path he had been following through the data logs, one of the few sane ones in this mad situation was the man's prisoner. The dead woman beside him, Elizabeth Cross, the girlfriend he had been searching for. He had found them both only to find one dead and the other about to be killed by a monster in human skin.

"Of course you are. Have no fear. You will play..."

He'd heard enough and a mistake had been made. The only barrier that separated him from them was a window, he could see everything through the tempered glass and he acted in an instant drawing his blade. Mercer's monologue was interrupted as he was picked up and sent flying backwards over the counter behind him. He slide along the floor, not too gently, and rose unsteadily to his feet. He glared at Ezra, a crack appearing in his calm demeanour.

"What are you? One of God's children. No, you can't be a child of god. A demon, a demon sent to corrupt the weak, you will not succeed devil. Devil in the grass."

By the time Mercer stopped talking Ezra had cut through the glass and was freeing the prisoner.

"What I am doesn't matter, stopping this whole mess that's what's important."

The man ran for the door. Ezra ignored his flight, he knew the man wouldn't get very far, there were necromorphs right outside the door and helping Temple was more important.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

At last he was facing the object responsible for this whole mess. It definitely didn't look impressive a bare five feet in height and slight red tint to its material. He could feel the marker's energy pulse standing so close to it, the signal it was broadcasting. As he stood in front of it he started working through his options.

_'Maybe the best thing would be to place the marker in my pocket. It should cut off its signal. Once I get back home I can take it out and study it at my leisur...'_

Ezra realised that the last line of thought wasn't his own.

_'Tricky thing aren't you?'_ Ezra thought strengthening his mental shields. ' _You're somewhat alive aren't you, at least enough to recognise and react to a threat. I wonder if that's why nobody on board tried to destroy you, Kyne was trying to just return you to the planet. There were claims that it was indestructible but I bet those individuals didn't try very hard. Worst case scenario fire the thing into a sun even if it survives the heat, I doubt the signal would be able to escape through the radiation.'_

Ezra steadied his feet and placed two hands on the hilt of his blade.

_'Let's just try the simple method first.'_

Ezra swung his blade at the Marker. There was a screech of tortured metal as the marker was struck. It was slow but the marker's material was slowly giving way to the blade. The energy pulsed faster and he could hear the ships echo with the screams of the twisted dead. Ezra forced the blade through the material as it gave way inch by inch. He could sense the sickening feeling growing exponential, what felt like all the necromorphs were heading towards his position. Neither made any difference, the blade took less than a minute to finish its work. The marker split in two, the top half falling to the ground with a clunk. He swore, the marker's signal was much weaker but still broadcasting, weakly from both sections. He could feel the first wave of necromorphs approaching. He glared at the fragments.

_'I've got no choice but I promise you when I'm back in my own loop, the first sun or fusion reactor I find you're gone.'_

He threw the pieces into his Subspace Pocket. The roars and screams that filled the air were cut off immediately. Ezra fell to his knees gasping, the sound of his breathing echoing in the sudden quiet. at the very last second before being shut away the signal had blasted out stronger than ever. He had had no choice but to clamp down on his mind hard. He stayed like that for a while recovering and when he felt better rose to his feet. He reached out to confirm the situation and it appeared to be as he'd hoped. Removing the Marker had destroyed the necromorphs. On the way towards the shuttle he observed the various remains of necromorphs dissolving slowly into sludge.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The shuttle took off from the Flight Deck and started leaving Aegis VII system. On board were three people, Ezra, Hammond and Temple. Temple was still dull to his surroundings, the death of Elizabeth had hit him hard when the adrenaline of his capture had worn off. Kendra, a now revealed government agent, had been left behind on the Ishimura. Ezra cursed her under his breath, she had killed Kyne; shot him through the chest with a pistol and had attempted to take the shuttle for herself. She hadn't gotten very far with her scheme though. Ezra wondered what the look on her face was when she boarded the shuttle and found Hammond still alive and waiting for her. Then again Hammond said that he had clocked her the moment the hatch opened, so there was a decent chance all she had seen was a fist incoming. When she regained conscious they had interrogated her, it took a while to drag the story out of her but they got it.

The marker was man-made, buried on Aegis VII after the previous study lost control of the experiments. Kendra had been sent to confirm if it had been found and if so to relay that information to the Valor so that it could deal with the problem. Of course said solution would have probably involved the destruction of the colony and the deaths of the Ishimura's crew. She appeared to have no guilt over her actions, Ezra couldn't tell if that was her true self or whether damage from the Marker's induced psychosis had led to that. They had discussed the concept of killing her but they were sick of death at the moment. Leaving her stranded alone on the Ishimura would have to do. Moving back to the shuttle they had then talked about their options. There had been some talk about waiting for rescue aboard the now safe Ishumura but that idea had been shot down quickly. The last response had been military, there was no telling what the government might send next time to try and keep this under wraps. Ezra piloted the shuttle past some debris on the route to the system's edge. In the chair next to him Hammond turned to face him.

"So what happens now."

"I don't know." Ezra replied and that was the truth, he didn't know. The loop might end at any second or it could continue on. They might have to keep running from the government or they could perhaps find people to support them. The best he could do was keep moving forward.

His last thought before they jumped away from the system was a silent prayer for the individual he was Replacing, a prayer that the poor soul never activated as the Anchor for this loop.

* * *

**23.3     [Fire Across the Galaxy]** (numair2304)

An Awake Kanan was giving the usual lesson.

"You have to make a connection-"

He suddenly became aware of two things. The first was feeling Ezra's emotions and soul suddenly change through the bond signifying he was Awake and the second was a surprising impact as Ezra glomped him tightly.

"Ezra ... need ... to ... breathe!"

"Sorry." Ezra said loosening his grip.

"Now Ezra what happened? What brought this on?"

"The next expansion happened. We saved you Kanan, we got you away from the Empire. It was all baseline too, I only Woke up after we'd safely escaped and we were talking with Fulcrum."

"Well that's all good, but why the hug? Even if you had failed you could have rescued me the next time you were Awake."

Ezra opened his mouth, then hesitated.

"Ezra, why?"

Ezra answered slowly as though reaching for a reply across a distance.

"I don't want to lose my friends, I don't want to Wake up and find it's too late to change events."

Silence fell on the two as they thought on that answer. Kanan knew that there could be no true loss of life in the loops as an individual would wake up again eventually, however what you could lose in the loops was time and for the anchors of the loops this was particularly true. Unspoken between them though was the thought of lost time, Ezra was already alone in the loops more than the crew really liked. Actually losing a crew member in the baseline would increase the likelihood of Ezra being alone in a loop, they even hoped that Agent Kallus stayed around as that increased the chance of Yoyo being around. Kanan shook himself. 'Right that's enough on that line of thought.'

"So you managed to get me away. How did you manage that?"

Ezra broke out into a smile. "It was really cool. We managed to break you out from a group of Star Destroyers, you even fought and defeated the Inquisitor during the escape."

"Really? Let's head back to the Ghost, you can fill me on the rest of the details on the way."

As they started walking Kanan was struck by a sudden thought.

"By the way, who's Fulcrum?"

* * *

Zeb smiled as he Woke facing down Agent Kallus. Everything had worked out fine with Kanan's liberation. Life was good, he might as well go easy on Agent Kallus this time. This meant no bo-rifle and no bare fists either, the amount of time spent beating up bucket heads had improved his punching skills. What he needed was to use something that was not strong and that he had to avoid breaking by hitting with it too hard. After a quick thought he retrieved an object from his Subspace Pocket making it appear to be drawn from his back pocket. Kallus looked bug-eyed at the weapon that Zeb had produced.

"You expect to fight me, with that! A spoon!"

Zeb gave a wry grin.

"Yeah sorry about that, I haven't got anything smaller."

* * *

Hera was piloting the Phantom with Sabine riding along. They'd Awoken moments earlier enroute to Fort Anaxes, an abandoned asteroid base. Hera tilted her head towards Sabine.

"So you've gone through the new expansion?"

"Yep. You as well?"

"Yes, we saved Kanan and got away safely. Part of me still can't believe we did that successfully."

"Yes it was great that we got out of there all in one piece."

"Including your masterpiece." Hera teased.

"Will you shush about the masterpiece." Sabine muttered, albeit with good humor.

"I will if you answer one thing, how in the world did you hide from me through all these loops that you kept and decorated the TIE Fighter that Ezra and Zeb stole?"

* * *

In the bowels of the Star Destroyer, Kanan and Ezra, armed with each others lightsaber, were engaged in combat with the Inquisitor on a bridge above the engine core. The Inquisitor blasted Kanan back off his feet with a Force push and with the moment's respite sent a spinning lightsaber flying towards Ezra. Ezra attempted to block but was unable to completely stop the blade, the tip scarring his face. The resulting impact knocked him back off the edge of the ledge, Kanan Awoke just in time to see Ezra fall from sight.

"No!"

Staring over the edge he could see no sign of Ezra but through the bond he could feel a faint pulse. He was alive, unconscious but alive.

He looked up to see the Inquisitor just smiling with glee at him.

"That was a mistake."

"Why because you have no one left to die for you."

Kanan breathed deep, calming down his body and mind. He raised Ezra's blade.

"No, because now that I'm truly Awake, you have no chance against me."

What followed shortly was a completely one sided beat down.

* * *

Aboard the Imperial transport the crew had just been united with Kanan after his capture. Kanan approached Hera.

"I owe you all a great debt of gratitude. Even if what you did was rash and reckless."

"You're welcome, dear."

["Would you two just kiss already!"] An Awake Chopper whistled.

* * *

"Not to worry Agent Kallus, the Empire has sent an alternative solution."

Yoyo Woke up to those words and seeing the situation in front of him thought they had a problem.

_Yoyo'd: Anyone Awake?_

_BTHead: I'm here._

_BTHead: What's happening?_

_Yoyo'd: We have a problem with the new loop expansion._

_BTHead: Why?_

_BTHead: What's the problem?_

_BTHead: We managed to rescue Kanan in baseline with no losses._

_BTHead:  The Empire was even down one Star Destroyer in the process._

_Yoyo'd: Have a look at this data packet._

_Yoyo'd: DATAFILE-EP_FIREACROSSTHEGALAXY_

_BTHead: ..._

_BTHead: Oh_

_Yoyo'd: Yes, oh._

_Yoyo'd: The Inquisitor is one thing, the Dark Lord of the Sith is quite another._

_Yoyo'd: He's on a whole other level and he has the authority to mobilise a large part of the Empire to focus on us._

_Yoyo'd:_ _I suspect that the next expansion is going to be a problem._

_BTHead: We better start making plans._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 23.1: This took a while to finish. Rai started off this sketch with a great introduction in 16.1 and ever since I read it I wanted to see what happens next and now I know. A lot of thanks to Rai for looking over the work to see if it was worthy of the original sketch. It was a lot of fun writing for the characters especially Fred.  
> In case people were wondering Honey Lemon apparently knows three languages: English, Spanish and Japanese. I thought as Sabine was multi-lingual, it would be a nice way for their characters to bond.
> 
> Hola mi nombre es Sabine. Me gustaría ser tu amigo: Hello my name is Sabine. I would like to be your friend.
> 
> Es un placer conocerte Sabine. Mis amigos me llaman Honey Lemon. No sabía que usted hablaba español.: It's nice to meet you Sabine. My friends call me Honey Lemon. I didn't know you spoke Spanish.
> 
> 23.2: Finally the death and decay is over. Had to refresh my memory of this by replaying it again. I found some interesting things on the way and some new ways for the plot to move in. I did find it interesting that the Cutter and the lightsaber work on similar technological lines. There is actually a repair schematic for the Plasma Cutter on the wall near where you pick it up for the first time. I even managed to find an alphabet translation for the Marker script off on one of the Hydroponics bays which I hadn't found before.  
> Hope that you enjoyed the story.
> 
> 22.3: Up to 'Fire Across the Galaxy' at last, now I can watch what happens next in the plot. I'm expecting it not to go well since Vader has turned up. 
> 
> I'm glad I got this finished, I was having major trouble trying to create a scene for Sabine and Hera. It just clicked at one point and I was able to finish the sketch quickly.


	24. TCAoaTTP 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire Across the Galaxy Aftermath, Fear Itself, Walk into a room

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**24.1     [Fire Across the Galaxy Aftermath]** (numair2304)

At a bar known as Old Jho's Pit Stop, a group was seated around a table tucked away in one of the corners. The group was composed of the entire Ghost crew, Awake and making small talk, there was even a holosetup for LOKI to join in the conversation. Kanan turned in his seat towards Ezra.

"Ezra we've all been quite patient but how long are we're going to sit here?"

Zeb looked up from his completion with Sabine. They had been playing a drinking game involving languages. Each had to recognise the language the other spoke and reply in the same tongue, if they couldn't the loser took a shot.

"Yeah kid, all you said was you needed to talk to us. Are you going to tell us what this all about?"

Ezra's attention was focused on the entrance to the bar, looking for something.

"A problem turned up in the latest expansion. I'll go into the details soon, just wait a little while longer, we're still waiting for one more and I think this is him."

An individual, their identity concealed within a hooded robe, had entered the bar and was approaching their table. He slid into an empty seat at the table.

"Sorry, I'm late. It was difficult to create a window of opportunity so that I could get away without anyone realising. Have you started yet?"

"I wanted to wait until you arrived before I mentioned the topic of this meeting. What's with the disguise Yoyo?"

"Do you really think it's a good idea for me to be seen here meeting with a outside group."

"Good point. Ok, before we start. Protection, Hera?"

Hera drew a wand out of her Pocket and started subtle casting. Within a few minutes she was finished and put the wand away.

"Ok, I've set up wards to divert attention away from us, Jabba the Hutt could be pole dancing on the table and no one would notice."

"Good work," Ezra said with a smile which turned to a grimace, "and thanks for that incredibly creepy image. LOKI?"

There was a beep from the setup on the table.

'I've got electronic sniffers out to watch out for problems.'

After the briefest of glances between them, Ezra nodded to Yoyo. Yoyo started talking.

"Ok long story short, after your breakout the Empire called in help. Vader is going to arrive on Lothal."

There was silence around the table. Zeb summed up what most of the group was thinking with a barely heard mutter.

"Kaarablast."

Kanan leant forward.

"Details?"

Yoyo described as well as he could what had happened at Capital City's Imperial Base soon after their rescue of Kanan.

"So far that's all I know. The loop ended soon afterwards before any orders were passed around."

Sabine shifted restlessly in her seat, this was not welcome news. "What I don't understand is why he's going to be sent here now. We've caused plenty of problems for the Empire before now, some greater than the baseline. They've never taken this sort of action. It was bad enough having Grand Moff Tarkinn here, now we've got to deal with Darth Vader too."

Ezra laid a comforting hand on her hand and replied to her question. "I think the reason for the change is the fact that our baseline is still fluid. Some of our personal histories keep altering and haven't stabilised yet."

Yoyo agreed with that statement. "That's true. Every time I Wake up, I have a different memory of how I acquired my bo-rifle. I haven't had a repeat story yet."

Ezra nodded. "Right a lot of our histories are still shifting, it would make sense that the Empire's decisions about us would also shift."

Hera interjected. "That's true but I think we're going off topic. How do we deal with what the next expansion will bring?"

Kanan had been thinking on all this and decide to add his opinion.

"This is troublesome. The most likely situation I can think of occurring in the next expansion is that we might be confronted with Vader himself. That doesn't bode well."

Ezra nodded in agreement.

"I know. The truth is that Awake and with all our skills we stand quite a decent chance against him. However if say we managed to take down Vader, I'm pretty sure the resulting reaction from the Empire wouldn't be pretty. The Emperor would probably deal with the perceived opposition to his rule by sending a large number of soldiers targeting whoever defeated his apprentice."

Zeb smacked a closed fist into his open palm.

"What's the problem with that? It just means more bucket heads for us to hit."

"Besides the fact that the sheer weight of numbers would most likely bring us down in the long run. Think of the collateral damage that such a fight would bring to Lothal." Ezra retorted.

At this mentioned scenario another round of silence fell over the table as the group fell into their respective thoughts. Ezra glanced at Zeb and Yoyo, he thought that out of everyone around the table with their experiences on the planet Lasan, they had the best idea of what could happen to Lothal in the fallout. The silence was interrupted by a beep from Yoyo's belt.

"Well that's time up, I've got to get back. If I don't turn up soon, somebody will notice that I'm not where I'm supposed to be. Keep me updated on any plans you come up with." Yoyo said rising to his feet.

As Yoyo headed for the exit, the crew kept talking. After a lot of debate they had come up with a few ideas, though some were discarded for sheer lunacy. Sabine realised that through it all Ezra had been mostly quiet during the ideas pitch, seemingly lost in thought. She prodded him and drew his attention.

"So what do you think we should do?"

Under everyone's gaze Ezra hesitated to speak at first but in the end Ezra voiced the idea he had been considering, disenchanted as he was by it.

"In the worst case scenario, we might have to consider leaving Lothal."

A loud "WHAT!!?" came from everybody else sitting around the table.

* * *

**24.2     [Fear Itself]** (numair2304)

Kanan Woke and opened his eyes slowly. He was unable to see his surroundings as something was blocking his vision. He started to move his arms to remove the obstacle and hesitated.  Something wasn't right, his body didn't feel right. A voice impacted on his senses.

"Kanan I need you to listen to me carefully."

Kanan was glad to recognise a familiar voice and an Awake Force presence nearby, though he was worried by the worry in Ezra's voice.

"Ezra, where are we? Are we in danger?" He started to reach again for whatever was blinding him but stopped as Ezra entreated him.

"Just wait until I've finished explaining before you remove the blindfold. I want you focus on remaining calm."

Kanan was worried but followed Ezra's advice and centred himself.

"Ok I'm calm, now what is going on?"

"Do you remember a while back that guy Jack Frost ending up in our loop?" Kanan shuddered as he nodded towards where he sensed Ezra. After hearing Jack's story Kanan had liked the guy but still couldn't look at the living snowman without breaking out in shivers.

"It appears that this time we're in his loop and I've replaced his son Charlie."

"Oh so you replaced that guy's kid, so who did I rep..." Kanan stooped talking as a horrifying thought crossed his mind. His arms reached for the blindfold, arms he realised that were thin and creaked with movement. He blinked as light suddenly filled his eyes. In an  instance he took in the scene in front of him; a worried-looking younger version of Ezra standing there wearing a bobble hat, the surrounding neighbourhood lit by dawn's glow covered in a blanket of snow and his own arm an animated branch. He started to look down at his body. Through the bourgeoning panic, fear, anxiety, and roaring that was building in his head he could hear Ezra still speaking.

"Kanan just please stay calm."

The silence of  the dawn settled over the sleepy town of Medford was abruptly shattered. The panic-stricken scream shook the nearby windows and woke most of the town.

* * *

**24.3     [Walk into a room]** (numair2304)

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

"CHOPPER!!"

_'Where was that droid?'_ He had been told by Chopper that there was a meeting organised. He did not expect to find a candlelit dinner for two prepared and an unAwake Hera standing there looking confused at the scene. He caught sight of furtive movement and lunged forward.

"Chopper! Get back here!"

["I'm just responding to the shippers"] warbled the droid as he made his getaway.

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

_|"Ezra, did you know that we have a guest looper?"|_

_|"Yes but you don't have to worry, there's nothing wrong with our guest. No pranks, no explosive tendencies."|_

Kanan took another peek into the room to confirm what he thought he'd seen before withdrawing. _|"Ezra, I'm fine with our guest. It's you who might have problems."|_

_|"Why?"|_ Kanan could feel Ezra's confusion and uncertainity in that single word.

_|"It's Candance,"|_ Kanan explained. |" _Ezra you know people are starting to call her the Wedding Planner of the Multiverse and she's in the same room as Sabine."|_

Kanan felt the moment that Ezra had come to the same conclusion as him which was confirmed by _|"Oh karrablast!"\_

_|"And correct me if I'm wrong but not only is this Sabine unAwake but she's one of the ones to have a major obsession on you this loop."|_

Ezra broke down into more cursing.

_|"If you want my advice, Yoyo's awake, go and surrender to the Empire and get yourself locked away preferably in the highest max he can arrange. Oh by the way, do you remember that prank you played on me last loop? Well I'm only going to give you a two minute head start before I suggest to the ladies that they should ask your opinion. Good luck!"|_

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

Next loop Ezra was trying to get Kanan to explain what he had seen in the room.

"Look Kanan, just tell me what you saw."

"I can't Ezra, I Pinkie promised and you know what she says; to break a promise is the fastest way to lose a friend fo..."

"FOREVER!" a new voice boomed around them filling the world and echoing off into the distance.

"Ezra?"

"Kanan?"

"Was that?"

"I think it was."

"But how? She's not even in this loop!"

"It's Pinkie, what else can you expect?"

"True."

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

He leaned against a nearby wall, trying to hold back his reaction. ' _Must not laugh Must not laugh. Must not la... Who am I kidding!'_

"Bwhaaahahahaha" He continued to laugh even as he found himself short of breath, sagging against the wall for support. The occupants of the room heard him laughing and over the sound of his own laughter he heard three voices complain in unison.

"It's not funny!"

He managed to get control of himself and stuck his head around the doorframe. Taking in the scene, this time he was able to control his amusement, though the smile didn't drop from his face. Entering the room he posed the question to the three individuals that had managed to not only somehow get themselves covered in gloop but also stuck to the actual ceiling.

"Does anyone want to explain how this happened?"

"Well..."

"It kinda..."

"We were just..."

As the overlapping voices washed over him he listened with one ear while allowing his thoughts to wander back over recent events. Overall it was turning out to be quite an interesting loop. When he first Woke up he'd discovered that not only was there a stealth anchor this loop but instead of Ezra, he was the teacher of not just one but three new padawan replacements. Three young girls, younger even than Ezra would have been. Each of them a different species but, despite their differences, relating to one another as siblings, sisters; in bond if not in blood. A Wookie, a Shi'ido and a S'kytri; Malleboppo, Belle Teeswie and Taloo Soco.

They weren't Awake but he recognised the replacements, it had been hard not to after the first half hour of dealing with them. He had encountered both the Awake and unAwake versions of the three when visiting their home loop and their antics were just as chaotic. Part of him was glad they weren't Awake as the chaos they occasionally caused always seemed to increase while they were Awake.

The girls were more of a handful than Ezra was but at the same time the crew were enjoying their presence just as much if not more so. Hera was playing mother, Sabine was enjoying acting as a big sister towards them, Chopper was having a lot of fun playing pranks with them and Zeb, he snickered silently to himself, they'd managed to wrap the tough Lasat completely around their fingers, who knew that he was such a a sucker for the puppy dogs eyes routine.

His eyes followed a particularly large glob of the sticky substance as it slowly descended towards the floor. The girls appeared to have run out of explanations and their talking had petered out. his last idle thought before he focused his full attention on them was to wonder how exactly they were going to clean all of this mess up. Quickly reviewing their stories in his head he noticed that there was one thing still left unexplained.

"That explains why you were all in here and what you were up to. There is one thing you still haven't explained; where did all this tree sap come from?"

* * *

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He didn't turn around.

He quietly backed up keeping his gaze fixed on the scene in front of him. He exited the room and was stuck. He didn't dare move any further as he would lose his eyeline. Panicking he opened the bond and broadcast. His emotions rippling through the bond.

_|"Ezra, I don't care what you're doing but drop everything, we have a major problem here!"|_

Ezra quickly established a link through the bond.

_|"I'm on my way. What's wrong?"|_

Kanan could hear the sound of approaching footsteps but didn't dare look. He kept his view focused, his eyes watering being held open so long. The footsteps stopped beside him and he felt the intake of breath as Ezra prepared to talk. He quickly acted before Ezra could talk.

_|"Quiet. Talk only through the bond."|_

_|"Kanan, wha..."|_

Ezra cut off as he noticed what Kanan had his attention on.

_|"Kanan"|_ Ezra's voice through the bond sounded calm but there was an edge of unease to it. |" _Please tell me that this is a prank you're playing on me."|_

_|"No, it is most certainly not! You recognise it then?"|_

Ezra cast his senses out to confirm. The Force screamed back at the alien presence that was so close. No doubt about it, it was the real thing. He stared at the alabaster form, it's body apparently formed of white marble. There was no movement, it's form locked in cold stone. The face of the angel covered by its own hands.

_|"That it's a Weeping Angel, yes! Kriffing hell! How did it get on board?"|_

_|"I don't know. I don't care. How do we deal with it?"|_

_|"Hit it with a sledgehammer maybe?"|_

_|"Ezra!"|_

_|"I don't know. I'm thinking."|_

Kanan had felt Ezra's shock about the problem through the bond. That shock and anxiety was fading and was being replaced by determination.

_|"As I see it we have two choices. The first is to abandon the Ghost. The second is; well to tell the truth I'm not one hundred percent sure it will work.  The only other idea I've got is to get a mirror and hope for the best. If we place a mirror in front of its eyes, it will either get stuck looking at its own reflection or..."|_

_|"Or what"|_

_|"A new angel could be created by the held image."|_

Kanan blanched at this. There was a chance of an angry Hera with one choice and duplicating angels on the other.

_|"Well the first choice seems sort of reasonable but there are a couple of problems with that; the angel would be free to chase after others and Hera wouldn't be happy abandoning the Ghost without a decent explanation."|_

_|"Well how do we explain that there is a being that creates temporal paradoxes as a food source camped in the kitchen?"|_

There was a pause as they both considered how Hera would react to that story. A random question crossed Kanan's mind.

_|"What happens if a Weeping Angel interacts with an Anchor?"|_

Ezra started to answer and then hesitated, seemly lost in thought. He slowly replied, contemplating the consequences.

_|"That's a good question. Their usual method is to temporally displace the individual, that person dies of old age in the past and the angel feeds off the paradox created. Anchors and temporal paradoxes usually don't work out well. If I was caught I would most likely die of old age before I even Awoke as an Anchor. I really don't want to know how the loop would react to that scenario."|_

_|"So key point to the plan. Keep you away from the thing as much as possible to avoid an incident."|_

_|"Right then, the choice comes down to annoying Hera or risk another Angel appearing and possibly crashing the loop."|_ Ezra considered for a moment the possibility of an loop crash and suffering through Eiken or dealing with an unhappy Hera for the rest of the loop. _' I know which one I'd rather face.'_ Ezra started backing away. _|"I'm going to fetch a mirror. Kanan, try not to blink."|_

_|"Very funny!"|_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 24.1: Just a bit of filler before the Siege. Now I get to watch what happens, see how bad it gets and how the events impact on the crew.
> 
> 24.2: Poor Kanan. Going to have to figure out how to deal with that phobia eventually.
> 
> 24.3: Walk into a Room cont. Does anyone actually know what happens if a Weeping Angel interacts with an Anchor?


	25. TCAoaTTP 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to class, Make a Connection, No Prison Strong Enough, Roadtrip, Siege of Lothal P1

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**25.1     [Back to class]** (Kuroyuki no Ryu + numair2304)

Ezra Woke up and found himself sitting behind a desk. A quick glance at his surroundings saw him sitting in a classroom surrounded by fellow students. A voice called his attention to the front of the room.

"We'll start homeroom now. Whoever is on duty issue your commands!"

The speaker definitely did not look human. _Okay, I've never seen this species before. Bright yellow, big head, tentacles. In that uniform likely chance of being the teacher of this classroom._ His current thoughts were pushed to one side at a sudden shout.

"STAND AT ATTENTION!"

Ezra on reflex jumped to his feet and felt his mouth slightly open at the scene around him. The whole room was not only standing but were pointing automatic weapons at the teacher and he realised with a shock that he could feel cold metal in his hand. He had no time to think on this as the rest of the class opened fire. Ezra was astonished, the moment the guns fired the teacher had blurred with speed, he could feel the room's air pressure alter slightly. The teacher was moving so fast that multiple images were appearing to form as he avoided the... _what were those?_ Ezra focused his attention on the projectiles. ' _They're not bullets and they don't appear to be harmful'._ Noting that they were just bouncing harmlessly off the wall behind the teacher. ' _They appear to be pellets of some kind.'_ He then realised something, through all the noise and commotion the teacher while moving at insane speeds dodging the projectiles was still calmly speaking.

"Good morning. Alright, seeing as you're still firing, I will take attendance. Isogai-kun!"

"......!!"

"I'm sorry but as we're in the midst of gunfire, could you speak up?"

"...e. Here!"

"Okano-kun"

"Here!!"

"Kataoka-kun"

"Here!"

As the role calling continued slowly the noise of gunfire fell silent as each individual weapon ran out of ammo. By the end of the role call all the weapons were clicking empty and the teacher was standing back behind the desk smiling at the class.

"No absences... How wonderful! Sensei is very pleased." The teacher then seemed to shift character, from a carefree joyful to more focused analytical. "What a shame. There were no direct hits to day, either. Tactics which rely on numbers lack individual thought. Your gaze, the direction of your guns, the movement of your fingers. Each and every one is far too simplistic. Let's tidy up the gun barrels and bullets. Class is starting."

With a slightly dull look on their faces and a depressed attitude the class started tidying the room, packing away the guns and sweeping up the pellets. Ezra joined in taking control of one of the brooms. While he was sweeping a young girl with glasses sidled up to Ezra.

"Are you ok Ezra? You look like you've been thrown for a Loop."

Ezra sent a ping and upon receiving an instant reply, smiled. Finally he might be able to get some answers.

"Sorry still trying to wrap my head around things. I just need to Anchor myself."

She smiled back.

"Talk to you after class."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"So Manami just to clarify, the main plot of this loop is that we supposedly have to kill our homeroom teacher, Koro-sensei by the end of the school year?"

"Yes."

"Who's a giant yellow multi-tentacled alien?"

"Koro-sensei's not actually an alien, but other than that yeah."

"An yellow non-alien giant octopus who can move at Mach 20?"

"Yup."

"Who is blamed for destroying 70% of the moon and claims he is going to do the same to the planet unless we can kill him by graduation?"

"Basically."

"He is also apparently immune to most things and we have to use special anti-sensei BBs and knifes to have a chance to injure him."

"Correct."

"And we're being trained as assassins?"

"Pretty much."

"...Sweet. I can't wait to give Kanan nightmares with my new awesome assassin skills."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Outside of Class E, a small group had formed consisting of Ezra, Karma, Ryoma and Manami. Karma started talking.

"Why did you want to talk to us Ezra?"

"Me and Manami have been talking and have decided on a new tactic for assassinating Koro-sensei."

Ryoma forcefully entered the conversation. "Well, what is it? I don't have time to hang around here all day."

Ezra and Manami shared a glance. Ezra spoke one word.

"Pranks."

Karma had a blank expression at that. "What?"

Ryoma had a more physical reaction, grabbing Ezra's shirt lapels to drag him face to face. "Are you joking me! What kinda nonsense are you two blabbing?"

Manami quickly started talking. She knew that Ezra was in no danger from Ryoma but thought it best that no conflict occurred. 

"We can see that his speed and reaction times are ridiculously quick, it's not going to be easy to catch him. With the pranking there's a twofold goal; one we might be able to get payback for the stunts he's pulled and two we can analyse how he reacts to different situations, physically and psychologically."

Ryoma looked confused. "Psyho what now?"

Karma interjected, understanding showing on his face. "I get it, study his patterns, predict this behaviour."

Ezra having disengaged himself from Ryoma's hands while he was distracted by Manami took back over the conversation flow. "There is another possible advantage. The way we see it the pranks will have him either be jumping so much that he'll start making mistakes or the lack of danger from them will make him relax his guard and create an opportunity. If that is truly the case it's a win-win in either direction. So what do you all say, are you in?"

Karma was quick to speak up. "I'm in. I can already think of ways to attack him mentally." He laughed, rubbing his hands together. "This will be fun."

"How about you Ryoma, you in?"

Ryoma looked unsure and spoke hesitantly. "I'm in. I don't know if this will do anything but I'm in." He perked up a bit. "At least I might have the chance to get one over on sensei."

The bell rang signalling the start of a new class and Ezra brought the meeting to a close. "We'll talk later when we're sure Koro-sensei won't hear. For now this concludes the first meeting of the Koro-sensei Pranking Society." 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

They had decided to split into teams of two in order to organise separate pranks. Ryoma and Karma were one team and Ezra and Manami the other.

"...Do you know what Manami and Ezra doing in there?" Ryōma asked Karma, gesturing towards the science lab as he entered classroom E-3.

"They mentioned working on some kind of new explosive compound." replied Karma turning towards the other boy. " So what ideas have you come up with?"

"How about cementing all the furniture in the teachers' lounge to the ceiling and leave a note incriminating sensei."

"That's it?"

"Shut up Karma! What bright ideas have you come up with!?"

Karma smirked. "Sabotage his dirty magazines. Replace half of them with copies made of anti-sensei paper and switch the contents of the other with yaoi. He'll either get an unpleasant surprise or his hands will explode."

"You're going to booby-trap the man's porn. That's evil!" Ryoma smiled darkly. "I'm in!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Erza paused, an idea striking him and turned towards his partner in crime. "Manami?"

"Yes?" Manami replied as she poured a blue concoction into the beaker filled with green liquid.

"You've figured out how to make anti-sensei material right?"

"Of course," the bespectacled girl nodded. "I figured it out in my thirty-second loop. Why?"

"Anti-sensei smoke bombs." Erza smirked. "Just replace the smoke with anti-sensei dust!"

Manami thought on this. "It might work but probably only in a enclosed space, outside he should be easily able to dodge the smoke or create a breeze with his tentacles to blow it away."

"It was just an idle thought. So what's your idea for the first prank?"

"Well I've managed to figure out certain chemicals that can force a colour change on Koro-senesei. The plan is to hit sensei with one and turn him pink for a week."

"A bit slow but not bad for an opening salvo.

* * *

**25.2     [Make a Connection]** (Kuroyuki no Ryu)

"You have to make a conne-what the hell Ezra!" Kanan swore as the other looper lunged at him with a knife.

"I will assassinate you Kanan-sensei!" Erza cackled as he launched himself after his fleeing master. This was going to be such a fun loop. "Get back here and let me kill you!"

Of course the Anchor wasn't really going to kill Kanan. Even if they were looping and would just come back next loop, he'd never do it. That however didn't mean Ezra wasn't going to spend the rest of the Loop driving his master crazy.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

|" _Hera! Help! Ezra's gone insane!"|_

_|"And he isn't already?"|_

_|"Chasing me and trying to gut me with a knife while screaming about killing me!"|_

_|"...Are you sure it's Ezra and not a visiting Looper!"|_

_|"Yes I'm sure!"|_

_|"I'll be there in a second."|_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You're such a sweet kitty aren't you?" Erza cooed to the cat thing, the picture of perfect innocence.

"He doesn't look homicidal to me." Hera commented, turning and giving the brown haired man a sceptic glance. "Are you sure you ok? Is this some elaborate scheme to get back at Ezra for leaving you stranded on Hoth?"

"I'm fine and it really did happened." Kanan insisted as Ezra pointed at him from behind Hera and slid his thumb over his throat. "Look! He's just made a threatening gesture at me!"

Hera turned back towards the 'young' padawan.

"Who's a good puddy cat?" the Anchor purred as he scratched the creature's ear. "Can we keep him Hera? Pretty please?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Kanan-sensei~"

Kanan's eyes snapped open to the image of Erza hovering over him with a 'bloodied' knife.

"Aaaaahhhh!" He screamed kicking the boy away, who promptly exploded into a cloud of smoke. A shadow clone.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A few Loops later...

["So how did you pull off the shadow clone?"] Chopper asked Erza as the two exchanged pranking stories. ["I thought you couldn't do those."]

"Exactly, that's why nobody believed Kanan when he said that I had sent a shadow clone to kill him while he slept." Erza smirked as he took a bite of his chocolate chip cookie. "I asked Sabine to help me out, her clone just used a henge to look like me. After I let her in on it, we terrorized Kanan together for the rest of the loop. Everyone thought he had lost it. That was a fun loop."

"You have to make a connection..." The Jedi trailed off giving his padawan a suspicious look.

"What is it Kanan?" Ezra asked the picture of a perfectly attentive student. "Aren't you going to continue this fascinating lesson?"

"...You're not going to try to gut me with a knife again are you? You're not a homicidal manic?"  
"I have no idea what you're talking about?" Ezra denied cheerfully.

"You have to make a connection-" Kanan was cut off when his padawan hit him in the face with a snow ball (where had Ezra even gotten that?). "What was that for!?"

"You're usually Awake when I do that." Ezra mused as he stared at his teacher intently. "Are you sure that you don't feel kinda Loopy?"

"What are you talk about Ezra?" Kanan asked his clearly crazy(er) student.

"Definitely not Awake then. Sorry, my mistake."

* * *

**25.3     [No Prison Strong Enough]** (numair2304)

Inside of the holding cell a prisoner was secured, his bonds preventing any movement on his part. Watching him, pacing from side to side while maintaining eye contact The Inquisitor was in the process of interrogating the prisoner.

"This was a surprise for me. I knew that you would be unable to escape us for long, but to actually surrender yourself into our custody. What must be going on in that head of yours? Is this some strange attempt to gather intel?"

"You need to move me, it's not secure enough here!"

The Inquisitor could feel a hint of panic in the boy's voice. Did he really think that he could escape?

"I think you underestimate the bonds securing you."

"I don't mean to stop me escaping, I mean to stop someone breaking in!"

As if on cue alarms started blaring. The Inquisitor could feel vibrations through the floor suggesting explosions. He quickly accessed his comm.

"Report!

"Sir the facility has been breached. Unknown is enroute to your location."

The Inquisitor saw his captive pale at those words. What was going on? A rescue attempt seemed to be underway but the prisoner didn't seem happy about it.

"How many are there?"

"One, sir."

Wait..what!

"Repeat that again soldier!"

The voice that came back was starting to panic.

"There's just one intruder, sir. We're unable to stop her advance, she'll be at your location in less than a minute."

There's was a boom and one of the prison cell walls no longer existed. The Inquisitor turned to face the opening an through the settling dust could see a figure approaching. Snarling he ignited his blade and leapt into battle. He was shocked to find himself surrounded in a blue glow and somehow pinned to the nearby wall unable to move. As the figure came into focus he was surprised to realise that he didn't recognise the species, some kind of pink humanoid with a horn protruding from the forehead and were those wings? It didn't matter she was here to free the prisoner and that would not be allowed. He strained at whatever bonds were holding him but the Force seemed unable to counteract whatever had him in its grip. He was forced to just watch, unable to move as the figure approached his prisoner.

"Ezra there you are. I've been looking all over for you."

The boy gave the woman a tired smile.

"Sorry Cadence, I was busy. What do you want?"

"We're considering autumn silk for the bridesmaids dresses. What's your opinion on it?"

The Inquisitor couldn't believe what he was hearing, the facility had been breached and he himself defeated just so that a talk on wedding designs could occur. His fugue state was broken when he realised the figure was moving again, this time to leave and to his surprise without taking the prisoner with them. He managed to find his voice.

"Didn't you come to free the prisoner?"

"Oh no dearie. I just had to ask him some questions. You two can get back to playing your silly games. I'll be back if I require anymore decisions made or added input."

She then promptly left the scene, a stunned silence filling the empty space.

"So..." Ezra spoke up hesitantly. "I don't suppose I could request to be transferred to a more secure facility. Preferably in a different system."

The Inquisitor unable to fully process what had just happened just nodded dumbly.

* * *

**25.4     [Roadtrip]** (numair2304)

Ezra shared a look with Sabine before focusing on his datapad. He was searching, collecting information on the galactic scene.

"This is a very strange loop."

Sabine rolled her eyes at the understatement.

"Ezra if what my memories are telling me is right, we're in a fused loop that appears to be composed of most if not all of the space based loops. Of course it's strange."

Ezra nodded in agreement.

"Right, so far I've identified through the Datanet mentions of the First Foundation, Twelve Colonies, System Lords, the Citadel Council, the Covenant...

Sabine sighed. "Oh great, giant rings of death to look forward to."

Ezra continued with his list.

"Galactic Patrol, Necromongers, Minbari, Shi'ar Empire, Eldar, Warworld, at least three different Federations..."

"Is one of them StarFleet?"

Ezra looked at the information in more detail.

"Yep, that's one of them. United Federation of Planets."

"I wonder if I can get Kirk's autograph."

Ezra gave Sabine a rather droll look just before the datapad gave a ping.

"What's that?"

"I've set it to search for more groups. It's found another earth based civilisation. Basic main religion appears to be a Church of Unitology. Nuts... Markers. First Brethren Moon that turns up, I'm borrowing the Death Star for target practice."

"How is there room for all of this in just one galaxy?"

"What I don't understand is how the laws of physics are holding up under all this abuse. Nearly every group either has their own version of FTL, moves through alternative levels of existence or creates spatial folds for travel. I can't understand how the fabric of space-time is able to support all of these."

"It's probably best not to think about it. So what do want to do this loop? Do we follow events or break away to explore this myriad mesh of a galaxy?"

She was smiling, her eyes glinting mischievously. Ezra just stared at her, keeping his own burgeoning smile under control.

"Explore?" She asked, her tone light.

He nodded. "Explore."

"Yeah! Road trip!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine was piloting a modified Ghost that Ezra had previously stored in his Pocket. So far she and Ezra appeared to be the only ones Awake this loop, their Pings had been unanswered. Hearing footsteps behind her she twisted round in her seat to get a viewpoint of the door. Ezra entered the door and noticing her attention smiled at her as he moved to sit in the empty co-pilot seat beside her.

"It was nice to meet Mal and his crew even if they're weren't Awake."

Sabine gave a slight laugh as she returned her attention to the controls.

"It's difficult to say who's cuter in their actions at times, River or Kaylee."

"I thought that Mal reactions when we left were the best, it looked like he was torn between killing us for you giving Jayne those recipes for explosives..."

"What can I say the man knows the art of an explosion."

"Or kissing us for gifting them with that cloaking system for the Serenity, especially after we installed it and proved that it worked."

"I could see Mal's mind already percolating, thinking of ways to annoy the Alliance with it." Sabine smiled in remembrance. "That was fun. Where to next then?"

Ezra started checking the local star charts and information.

"We're going to want to detour around the next quadrant."

"What's wrong with it?"

"From what I can tell there's appears to be a five way war being fought, while I trust the Ghost's additions I don't really want to test them in a warzone."

"Who's fighting?"

"The Borg Collective, Dalek Empire, Tyranids, Vex and Zerg Swarm."

Sabine considered this scenario. Some of the greatest forces of their respective worlds clashing.

"Who's winning?"

Ezra studied the information closer.

"From what I can tell the Zerg keep pushing to advantage but whenever that happens some of the others coordinate long enough to push them back to a level playing field before going right back to fighting one another again. To be honest it seems to be sheer chaos."

"Ok so not there, what's the next idea."

Ezra looked up from where he was studying star charts. "Well I don't know if it is there or not but it might be possible to visit Equestria."

"Why would Equestria exist in this loop?" Sabine asked. "So far every culture we've meet has developed basic space travel."

"My theory is that because Celestia and Luna alter the orbit of their sun and moon it counts as a basic space culture. There's not many cultures that can control a heavenly body, destroy one yes, control no."

"So what's your proof."

"Have a look at this sector." Pressing some keys Ezra displayed a holographic map of the sector and pointing, zoomed in on a particular system. "This system has not really been explored as it's sun was noted to have a very erratic orbit, it appeared to alter every day."

"Why would that mean Equestria?"

"Because looking closely at the recorded orbits I noted that the changes in its orbit seem to occur exactly twice in a day within very similar time periods. If you were to overlap theses times against a normal day they correspond to sunrise and sunset nearly perfectly. In other words there's a chance that it's Celestia moving the sun for the sunrise and sunset."

"Say that you are right and that it is Equestria. You realise that without knowing the timeframe we could be walking into trouble. Nightmare, Discord, Chrysallis. Or we could be too early and it could be years before Twilight and her friends are even born."

"I just thought it was worth a look, like you say it might not be there anyway." He glanced over to her and gave a near invisible smile. "If it is there however, you never know we might have a chance for it to be early enough to see them as fillies."

Sabine considered this, a chance to see a filly Fluttershy

"Sold!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine sighed. Ezra might technically be the oldest entity alive in their loop but that didn't stop him acting as a child at times.

"Ezra, just... no."

"But Sabineee..." She couldn't believe it, he was actually whining. "Cybertron exists in this loop."

She put her foot down.

"Ezra Bridger! Despite you obsession with the AllSpark, we are not instantly jetting straight across half the galaxy just so that you can visit the Well of Souls. We'll get there eventually so you'll just have to wait."

* * *

**25.5** [ **Siege of Lothal P1]** (numair2304)

Walking a lonely patrol along one of the many corridors inside the Imperial Complex on Lothal two stormtroopers were talking about recent events.

"You think we'll find them this time?"

"We better!"

Turning a corner they were brought to a sudden halt as they hit a solid object in the middle of the corridor. Raising their eyes from the floor they just had time to recognise that it was a Lasat blocking their path when the impact of their heads being bashed together sent their consciousness spiralling into darkness. 

"Found me."

With a slight smile on his face Zeb ran past the comatose soldiers and it was at this point that Ezra Awoke.

_'Well, this is new. Why are we inside the Imperial Complex_?'

The crew was moving and he followed suit, firing off a quick Ping which received no reply. As they ran along the corridor he started reviewing his past memories in the process. Images of fighting the Inquisitor alongside Kanan and a Star Destroyer being consumed by flames flickered past.

_'So... we've already rescued Kanan so this must be the next expansion. Hmmm...'_

Visions of fighting alongside other rebels, taking part in organised raids on Imperial Convoys,

_'Let's see we've been working together with a larger group, Phoenix Squadron. Seems like a good group.'_

A cry for help intermixed with a strong fear, the return to Lothal onboard a different ship to avoid detection from the increased Imperial presence.

_'She's so scared, the woman has finally realised that working for the Empire is just as dangerous as fighting against them if you don't accomplish the goals they set.'_

A shuttle in flames, an Imperial broadcast blaming them for its destruction.

_'Those absolute...'_

Erza started cursing under his breath as the recent events finally caught up to him. The crew had returned to Lothal after receiving a distress signal from none other than Minster Tua, she was scared, so scared that she was willing to surrender herself and vital information to the rebels provided they spirited her away. In the end it had turned out to be a trap, though not on the Minister's part, no, the poor woman had been the bait and once she had fulfilled her part an explosive device set in her personal shuttle took her out. Ezra could recall the blunt force of the explosion throwing him back, the heat of flames on his face and the sheer shock that had struck his younger self. The entire crew were now stuck on the ground inside the Capital, no chance of backup coming and their reputations smeared on Lothal by the Imperial news blaming them for the Minister's death. The entire Imperial Garrison had been mobilised to search for them, setting up blockades on all exits and routes in the Capital. Ironically this had left the garrison very thin inside the Complex which meant that despite it being an Imperial building they were now hiding out in the location that had the fewest troops on site. The current plan was to try and locate an Imperial Shuttle so that they could get themselves off world.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Moving around the Complex while avoiding the patrols the Spectre crew had located an escape vehicle, a Imperial Shuttle, they'd even managed to gain some military grade shield generators situated nearby that they could load. Of course the instant they reached the shuttle, that was the moment the ambush was sprung. The cold presence Ezra had felt inside the Complex since he Awoke suddenly intensified. From Kanan's subtle reaction beside him, he was sure that the man had also felt the change. He asked anyway.

"Do you feel that?"

"The cold." Kanan said in response.

And here he came, the dark figure slowly walking towards them, igniting his blade casually. Ezra had felt the dark presence nearby the moment he'd Awoke. The difference in power between this figure and the Inquisitor was in the orders of magnitude. Ezra immersed himself deep in the force. He was calm, hundreds of loops had granted him experience and knowledge beyond the normal, still this was Darth Vader one of the primary antagonists of their world. He was sure that if he was to pull out all the stops, all the abilities, techniques and items he had acquired throughout the loops he would win but he wanted to test himself to see how far he'd grown within his own Loop's limits.

Approaching the crew Darth Vader suddenly felt the force presence in front of him grow. He hesitated for a second, trying to understand the change before focusing his attention on the boy. He was broadcasting a strong presence, far stronger than he should capable of at that age.

Ezra raised his blade, his body tensing preparing for the ensuing battle. On the edge of his perception he heard Kanan's exclamation of surprise as he felt the change in his padawan. Adrenaline pumping through his body he started forward and was shocked when the loop abruptly ended. With a jolt he suddenly found himself elsewhere. His battle ready mind still focused on advancing forward clashed with his now completely unprepared body. Conflicting signals running through his body he tripped over his own feet and ended up falling to the ground, face planting and receiving a mouthful of dirt for his troubles. Though the impact had left him with a slight ringing in his ears he could hear Kanan talking. Karrablast, the smug tones, the man was Awake!

"You know, when I said make a connection, I didn't mean with the ground."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 25.1: A Loop through Assassination Classroom. While I added a bit of writing to this, all credit for this great sketch set in an outside loop should go to Kuroyuki no Ryu. I particularly liked some of the pranks that were suggested.
> 
> 25.2: Make a Connection. More sketches from Kuroyuki no Ryu. 
> 
> 25.3: This is a continuation from a Walk into a Room Sketch 24.5 starring Cadence from MLP. Don't get in her way when she's planning a wedding.
> 
> 25.4: This sketch came about after debating with a friend about who would win between the Borg and the Zerg (the Zerg would claim victory because of sheer numbers). It was a lot of fun to write as I kept thinking if I was on a stellar road trip where would I like to visit.
> 
> Do you recognise the worlds that were mentioned?
> 
> 25.5: This took a few rewrites before I was happy with it. I kept writing more than I thought was needed for an extension of the main plot. A couple of people are probably unhappy that I didn't write an epic showdown between Ezra and Vader but I just liked the idea of hyping up for a fight before the plot shifts in a completely different direction throwing you off. Besides it can only happen once, the loops might be infinite but experiencing a new expansion for the first time can only happen once. Hope everyone enjoys the move into Season 2.


	26. TCAoaTTP 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xmas Special, The Ravine

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**26.1     [Xmas Special]** (numair2304)

Standing out on the open plain Ezra shivered a little in the wind. Before him stood Kanan attempting to teach him a lesson in the workings of the Force. His teacher had decided that it would be a good idea to practice Jedi training even with the weather conditions. Ezra, his mind drifting a little during Kanan's speech found his eyes drawn to the ground as the man kept talking.

"You have to make a... hhhGGhhgkk!!" Startled by the sudden yell Ezra looked up to see nothing, Kanan was no longer there. He tensed, wary, looking around. He had felt the sudden change in Kanan's emotions. The terror and fear he sensed. Kanan was gone, no sign of him. He stepped forward warily.

"Kanan?"His voice came softly, hesitantly amongst the apparently empty plain. The only signs left of Kanan were the footprints leading to their location and none leaving. No sign of what had happened. His fear was building, the unknown situation wearing on him. In the midst of his rising terror, Ezra Awoke, blinked and took in the scene. The shifting thread of Kanan's emotions coming from the direction of the distant Ghost, the remaining magical traces of a sudden apparition and the usual landscape of Lothal's grasslands only this time covered in a light layer of snow. Realisation dawned. "Oh nuts."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Things were slightly better when he returned to the Ghost. Yes Kanan was locked and barricaded inside his room, after speed grabbing every blanket on the ship to create a cocoon for himself, but the rest of the crew had also Woken up so he wasn't alone in knowing what was going on. Didn't prevent him from taking some flack.

Hera paced into the lounge, upset after failing to get any reaction or reply from the sealed room. She had left Chopper on guard outside the room in case there was any movements while she went to get answers from Ezra. "Ezra what did you do to him!? It's one of the worse episodes he's had so far!"

Ezra looked up from where he had been researching Lothal's history on a spare datapad, seeing the expression on Hera's face. He would normally take offence at the implied blame but he accepted that Hera was worried for Kanan and hadn't most likely checked her memories yet; besides he thought ruefully she does have prior examples given the number of pranks he had pulled. Quickly he spoke up to calm the situation. "Hera, I promise you. I didn't do anything all. Check your memories and the current weather outside."

She paused as a moment of blankness crossed her face, then understanding dawned. "Oh." She said glancing apologetically at Ezra.

"Yeah, oh."

Zeb sitting nearby on one of the chairs, one leg crossed over the other, just snorted at the exchange. "We get why Kanan has sealed himself off from the outside world but what I want to know is why it's so cold. My feet are freezing."

Glancing up quickly then focusing back on his datapad Ezra tried hard not to snicker, Zeb wearing the Lasat equivalent of fluffy slippers gave the guy a unique look. "You know about the loops sometimes being alternative versions of our baseline. People with alternative genders or species, different back stories for people or organisations that kind of thing."

"Yeah we understand that." Sabine leaning against the wall smirked at her boyfriend. "Errrzzza."

Both Ezra and Zeb seemed disturbed by that mention. "Sabine don't call me that!" Getting a grip on his composure, Ezra continued his explanation. "It appears this time the difference this loop is in Lothal's climate. We usually have a temperate climate, this loop it appears that Lothal's orbit is altered enough to allow a continental climate. It had to happen at some point."

"And that means?" Zeb asked.

"In the short. Hotter summers, colder winters. We had an early cold snap but the weather will most likely get colder towards the end of the year, so expect more snow." A beep drew his attention back to the interface. "Oh that's interesting. Lothal's calendar this loop seems to take from the Tapani sector. We've just finished with the month of Yelona, huh the Empire Day matches up with the Harvest Day holiday perfectly."

Hera keeping track of the conversation even though her attention kept being drawn back towards the corridor. "That's all very interesting but what are we going to do about Kanan? If like you say the loop's weather is going to stay like this for a while..."

"At least two months." Ezra interjected still studying the datapad.

"Two months. You mean that Kanan is likely to be doing his caterpillar impression for the next seventy days?"

"Well no. He's going to come out at some point as there's no snow onboard the Ghost. The snowfall came early this year but it probably going to stick around according to the weather reports. So unless we plan a vacation off world we have quite few days of cold weather to look forward too."

"Look forward too?"

"You know snowball fights, building snow forts, sledging, skiing, ice-skating, ice hockey, stuff like that." While Kanan might not have had fun in Jack Frost's world, in the several weeks before Kanan turned up Ezra had been having great fun playing in the cold weather. Though trying to snowboard down that hill using a wok as an impromptu snowboard had turned out to be a mistake. That had all come to an abrupt end when Kanan turned up and he'd had to spend the rest of the time trying to calm the man down constantly. When he built the snowman as part of the loops baseline he had fully expecting Jack to turn up, the sudden familiar Force presence had come as a major shock. It was lucky that there were only few days left of that loop. Still studying the calendar for this loop Ezra noticed a certain holiday approaching and had an idea of what they could do. "Well for know we just have to wait for him to come out first but given the uniqueness of this loop's weather and calendar I have an idea of what we could do this loop." He explained his plan. The others looked at him sceptically. "It's what we do normally, it's just a more festive outlook on it."

"Well I'm in. It sounds like fun." Sabine said with a laugh.

["Me too!"] came a cheery whistle from the corridor where Chopper was stationed.

"Might as well" Zeb agreed though a tad reluctantly.

"Do you think Kanan will go along with it?" Hera asked Ezra.

"Well, it is supposed to be a time of miracles." Ezra smiled as he drew Loki's datachip out of his pocket. Inserting the chip into his datapad, he waited for a second while Loki came online and then spoke. "Hey LOKI, got a mission for you if you're interested."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

His exit from the room was hindered by Chopper blocking the doorway. Any further attempts to escape was halted by the two strong hands that he felt securely latch onto each arm. He glanced to the sides, Ezra was one side and Zeb the other. He heard a polite cough behind them and the traitors holding him moved so that he was facing the room again. Hera and Sabine stood there watching him. After waiting twenty-three days they had finally managed to catch Kanan outside of his room. Hera was the first to act, moving to stand directly in front of him, staring straight into his eyes. "This is an intervention Kanan. You need to get control of your problem."

Kanan struggled, tried to avoid the stare. "I don't have a problem."

Beside him Ezra shook his head in disbelief. Hera continued on."You need to get control of your phobia, it's getting out of control."

"No it's not." Kanan denied.

"Do you want proof you're getting worse?" Hera's stare moved to Ezra and she nodded.

Ezra started. "Jack Frost." Quite a sizeable twitch came from Kanan's form.

Zeb followed with "Hoth." Again Kanan couldn't help giving a shiver.

Sabine and Chopper continued this and with each utterance Kanan gave a shiver.

Hera started talking again. "There is also the problem that your phobia appears to be evolving."

_'What?'_ Kanan froze and shivered at the concept.

Ezra took over. "From what I can tell you started off with frigophobia but you're now starting to exhibit extra traits from chionophobia and cryophobia as well.. This needs to be dealt with."

Turning his head Kanan gave Ezra a stare of disbelief. "What makes you think that you have the credentials to analyse me?"

Ezra waved his free hand. "Hello, Anchor here! The amount of stuff I see and after I heard what happened to Leah Clearwater trying to deal with her home loop alone, I decided it was a necessary skill to learn. Not just for others but to help myself. Can you blame me?"

Considering this argument Kanan had to silently agree.

Turning his attention back to Hera, he focused on her eyes. "It's ok. I have a handle on it."

She smiled wearily "We only want to help you. If you keep heading down this path you might end up triggering if you hear someone yell at you to freeze."

There was a barely detectable shudder in Kanan's frame, but with Zeb and Ezra actually being in physical contact with him, they noticed. After a brief glance between them composed of brief shock and then rising realisation that both had noticed the same thing Ezra spoke. "Oh you've got to be kidding!"

Sabine and Hera not noticing Kanan's reaction were shocked by Ezra's sudden exclamation. "What's wrong Ezra?"

Ezra instead of replying directly to Sabine instead focused his reply to Kanan. "Kanan you just had a slight reaction to a turn of phrase. A turn of phrase I might add that the average stormtrooper might yell at us when trying to get us to halt. You're starting to trigger off tenuous links and references to cold now."

Looking at the dawning comprehension on both Hera's and Sabine's faces, Kanan couldn't deny it. He might have been able to ignore a lot but in front of such overwhelming evidence he had no choice but to capitulate to reality. He bent his head and let the floor hold his gaze. "Ok, I give up. I admit it, I have a problem."

Ignoring the worried looks on the others faces as they realised the extent of Kanan's problems, Ezra focused on Kanan. "Well that's supposed to be the first stage acceptance. We'll start working on the others. You might never like the cold, but a dislike is better than a retreat from reality. What we need to do know is to get you to start associating the cold with positive feelings and on that note we have a plan." Kanan raised his face. "At the end of the next month there is a Winter Fete." Kanan suppressed a shiver. "We're going to add a twist to the event by introducing an equivalent holiday from the Hub."

"What's the holiday?"

Ezra smiled. "Christmas is coming to Lothal."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In the Ghost's cargo hold Ezra, Sabine and Zeb showed Kanan their preparations while pointing to particular points.

"As you can see for the last month we've been getting prepared. By now pretty much everything is ready, we've got supplies for the adults and toys for the kids. Flooding the planet's data net with subtle messages about the event has gotten the populace interested."

"I still don't understand why I have to be Santa." Zeb grumbled.

"Well we don't have a cuddly Wookie, so we'll have to make do with a grumpy Lasat." Ezra replied before dodging from the said Lasat's reprisal.

Ignoring their antics Kanan turned to Sabine. "So how have you stopped the Empire catching on?"

"Ezra let Loki off the leash to keep them distracted."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Inside the Imperials data network Loki whistled as he deleted another informant's report. So far he had no problem about keeping the Imperials ignorant of the coming event but that could change in the future. The Spectres raids or rather the unusual lack of them had started to be noticed, right at that very moment the Grand Inquisitor was enroute to the planet for a meeting with Agent Kallus. Yoyo wasn't Awake either so they were dealing with the usual Kallus and the man wasn't stupid. He needed to escalate the distractions. As the Imperial Shuttle was on its final approach to the landing pad, he had finished his preparations for the next set of distractions. Giggling in binary he relaxed to watch the ensuing chaos.

Emerging from the shuttle the Inquisitor walked down the ramp, setting a decent pace as he moved to the meeting. His movements were halted as the moment his foot touched the ground a large burst of static followed by music came from the local broadcast system.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sitting behind his desk Agent Kallus perused through the day's pile of orders and reports. As he worked on them, he also went over his notes for the upcoming meeting. Ever since Empire Day the rebel cell had appeared to have gone to ground. There had been no sightings but still certain events and problems suggested that they were out there.

_"...y... ,...ou ...ve ...e."_

The Inquisitor agreed with him and they had set up a meeting so that they could organise a coordination of their efforts to locate the rebel cell. The gods knew that Aresko and Grint were having no luck.

_"W...re ...ppy ...mily"._

The meeting should be starting soon and he had a few ideas about... what was that sound? He realised that for the past minute he had been hearing music gradual increasing in volume or maybe getting closer. In fact he would bet that was causing it was on the other side of the door.

_"Wit... a ...reat big ...ug and a ki... from ...e to you."_

With a hiss the door opened revealing the Inquisitor standing in the opening. Taking in the man's expression he flinched, the man most of the time wasn't in the best of moods but this was one of the blackest moods he'd seen the man. He marched into the room, his face contorted with anger, his teeth bared in a snarl. Kallus noticed that as the man entered the room the music followed him, now blaring from the broadcast speakers inside the room, not too loud to prevent dialogue but definitely loud enough that it couldn't be ignored.

_"Won't you say you love me too."_

Kallus blanched as he took note of the lyrics. What was that? What in the world was that song going on about? Taking in the Inquisitor's composure but still wanting answers he firmly stated. "Report."

Breathing deeply for a moment the Inquisitor calmed himself. "The moment I entered the facility this insufferable music started following me around, I've informed the techs and they've started working on it."

"Have the techs been able to locate the source?"

_"I love you, you love me,"_

With a look of disgust the Inquisitor spoke. "They can't find where it's coming from, according to their systems it's not even happening in the first place."

Kallus was starting to get worried at the tension in the room. His training at the ISB had prepared him for a lot of things but nowhere in the training had it mentioned how to deal with an increasing irritated and agitated Sith.

_"We're best friends like friends should be,"_

Something in the room snapped. There was a shriek of twisting metal and a fizzle as the speakers inside the room were crushed like tissue paper. In the sudden deafening silence Kallus eyed the Inquisitor cautiously, the man seemed calmer after that break in control.

**_"With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you,"_ **

The new silence and calmness was shattered by the song being blared from an outside source at an even higher volume. Kallus watched the Inquisitor carefully, the twitch he was starting to display was a worrying sight. Judging from the man's tension the safest option was to cancel the meeting which he did and suggested to the Inquisitor that he acquire a helmet equipped with noise cancellation until the problem was fixed.

**_"Won't you say you love me too."_ **

Agreeing with that idea the Inquisistor moved off. Kallus stood on the door watching his progress down the corridor, his darking mood becoming perceptible the further he walked.

**_"I love you, you lov-"_** *Tshww szszsz*

There was a hiss, sizzle and an explosion of static as the closest speaker met its fate at the hands of the Inquisitor's lightsaber. Pulling his lightsaber free of the melted pastic and metal remains the Inquisitor marched on keeping his blade lit and turned the corner. As another hiss came from around the corner Kallus decided to leave the paperwork alone for a while and hasten the tech's progress.

Onboard the Ghost, watching the live footage that Loki was streaming, Ezra was holding his sides as they hurt from laughter. "Great work Loki!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The time had come at last. The preparations had been completed and everything seemed ready to go. A Christmas tree and a Santa's grotto had been set up the day before. Kanan was staying on board the Ghost along with Hera in order to keep track of everything going on. Loki was still tasked with distracting the local Imperial forces. Ezra, Sabine and Zeb were in the Ghost's hold getting ready to set off.

"Ok last minute checks. Presents." Sabine said.

Zeb stared at Sabine in slight irritation. "Stored in my subspace pocket, just like they were a minute ago!" It would be a nice trick, they had arranged that he would reach into the sack by his side and pull the present out of the pocket making it appear that the sack held everything.

"We have to make sure we haven't forgotten anything." Sabine wore a serious expression. "Next, supplies."

Ezra raised his hand. "Secure in my pocket. There should be enough for everyone, naughty or nice." Zeb stared at them in slight disbelief, at this point he was sure that the two of them were just messing with him.

"Chopper." Sabine continued.

"Waiting on site." Ezra waved off towards the distance. "Making sure that everything's ready, spreading festive cheer."

"Costumes."

"Check."

"What do you mean check, we're wearing them!" Zeb took note of their slight smiles. Yep, they were definitely messing with him. He glanced down at his costume. Part of him still didn't understand how they had managed to talk him into wearing it but he was wearing what was apparently the authentic red Santa costume along with compulsory white beard though he had succeeded in talking them out of the paunch. Directing his stare to who should be his little helpers sitting beside him he took in the broad smiles on their faces. He did find it interesting that while Ezra was dressed in a bright green elf costume, somehow during the preparations Sabine's costume had managed to adopt the same colour scheme as her armour. "Have you two had your fun?" They nodded. "Let's get this show on the road."

"I'll get the door." Jumping out for a moment to trigger the hold's door, Ezra quickly returned to his seat in the converted RGC landspeeder that was the designated sleigh.

The moment Ezra landed back in his seat, Zeb hit the ignition and the engine came to life. Holoemitters installed on the hood activated and a team of eight reindeer appeared in front of them ready to apparently tow the vehicle. Moving forward, exiting the Ghost Zeb yelled. "On BucketHeads One to Eight!"

"Those aren't their names!" Ezra complained.

"I'm the big guy right so I can choose what to call them." Zeb snarked at Ezra. "Next stop Tarkintown."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Agent Kallus lay in his cot enjoying the peace and silence around him. Ever since that day that the music had started following around the Inquisitor, things had not gone well. The techs had no luck in the short term dealing with the music and eventually the only solution they had for the moment was for the Inquisitor to avoid the Imperial Complex as the music only followed him through the halls. The Inquisitor had gone one step further and had actually retreated off world returning to the Spire so that he wouldn't to suffer from that song. Kallus agreed with this action as replacing the broadcast systems every time the Inquisitor wrecked them was becoming expensive. The relief had been short lived however as the hacker, for what else could it be, had started choosing new targets for their capers. The first sign had been when the songs had started up again sometimes targeting individuals, sometimes broadcasting to the entire complex. Taskmaster Grint had been followed around by a song that claimed he liked to 'move it, move it' for a few hours to his major annoyance. Kallus heaved a sigh of displeasure. That had been a particular irritation, the fact that they couldn't locate any of the song's source of origins, each song that was played appeared to have never been heard in the Empire before. One day had a set of songs playing on a loop to the entire complex, all of which appeared to be sung by the same group of people. One of those song lyrics had stuck with him.

_Never Again..._

_Never Again..._

_They had a frightening desire for genocide_

_They wouldn't stop 'til what was left of my family died_

_Hell-bent on taking over the world_

...

That song had struck too close to home, reminding him of the campaign on Lasan. He shook his head, diverting his thoughts and focusing on the multitude of other problems that had cropped up. All the doors in the Imperial Complex giving off a happy sigh every time they opened and closed, even the Walker bay doors were part of the prank. The service droids had been sent orders to paint all the TIEs stored in the facility a variety of eclectic colours, a couple of them even glowed in the dark. At one point all the troopers helmets had been replaced by buckets, they still had no idea what happened to the originals. Fire drills were activated at ungodly hours. Sometimes twice in one night or rather early morning. One trooper still half asleep had turned out with just his helmet and standard firearm, the rest of his clothes had been the unofficial onesie he had been wearing to bed. Some of the troopers had been pleased when they were assigned night shift duties as it meant they would most likely be able to sleep through the next day. One strange anomaly he thought he had been the only one to notice was that the pranks seemed to be calmer around the Minister. Not gone just lower key. He had thought about mentioning it to the techs but the woman's genuine ignorance of the situation made him strangely hesitant to bring it to anyone's attention. Besides by hanging around in the vicinity of Minister Tua meant that he avoided the avoid the bulk of the pranks. Throughout all the chaos the techs were inundated as they tried to deal with all the problems.

However that was now in the past. Over the last week the techs had shut down all links into the Complex's systems, completely purged the systems, reinstalled the operating systems with software transferred from off world and changed all security codes and firewalls before relinking to the outside datanet. Since then there had been no signs of the hacker for a peaceful two days and the techs had assured him that even if they came back with the new security programs they would be unable to make any headway. Tired with the day, he closed his eyes and started to drift off.

The clocks slowly switched from 1159 to 0000 heralding a new day. At exactly the same time the entire Imperial Complex was startled from its slumber by Noddy Holder's voice yelling out, before launching into song.

**_"It's Christmas!!"_ **

Kallus's eyes snapped open.

In cyber space moving through the machine code, Loki giggled as he watched the fallout.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Tarkintown a loose collection of buildings standing upon one of Lothal's plains. Home to improvised farmers pushed off their land to make way for Imperial interests. The mood in such a settlement was usually inclined towards the sombre but that gloom seemed to have lifted a bit this night. They had celebrated the Winter Fete as normal but this year there had been an addition to the festival. In the square that somewhat marked the centre of the settlement, a tree decorated with lights and crystal had been placed and standing beside it stood a cheery red and white building with a visible sign declaring to the world Santa's Grotto. The square was filled with an assorted crowd of adults and kids milling around, though two distinct lines could be made out. One comprised of adults heading for the tree and the other prominently children leading to the Grotto. A droid painted in bright white and green was moving through the crowds whistling a cheery tune. Chopper had been the advance party setting the stage for tonight's events and while he tracked the crowd, he checked on some his work. He focused on some of the festive bunting hanging from the nearby buildings and happy with how well it was holding up gave a twirl as he hit a particular point in his tune.

Inside the grotto Zeb was actually having a grand time playing his part. Despite his initial hesitations of wearing the suit, he couldn't help smiling as the kids left excitedly holding their new toys and showing them off proudly to their parents. Smiling at the young Rodian sitting on his knee, he laughed heartily as he asked the question for the night. "And what would you like for Christmas?"

At the base of the tree Sabine and Ezra had set up a table and it was there that one of the lines ended up. There they were handing out supplies to the local residents; clothing, food, drink. The grateful faces and heartfelt thanks were both pleasing and bittersweet to the two.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Time had passed and all the people were starting to their various abodes. The leftover supplies had been stored in crates and left under the tree. Chopper, Ezra, Sabine and Zeb had packed away the grotto and were now in the sleigh ready to depart. There was just one thing left to do.

["It's traditional."] was Chopper's argument.

"Not in this universe it isn't."Zeb grumbled half-heartily.

Sabine and Ezra shared a glance and then turned puppy dog eyes on Zeb. "Come on Zeb think of the children."

Zeb stared for a long moment before bringing up a hand to cover his eyes in a perfect picture of resignation. Just mentioning the kids was enough, the puppy eyes were over the top. He muttered silently. "Alright for the kids."

The sleigh jerked forward, the reindeer train running ahead. As the sleigh left the ground what was left of the crowds saw Santa wave and yell.

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The sleigh flew through the sky, its occupants tired but pleased with the day's events. There was a beep and Ezra realised that he'd received a message from Loki, opening it he started to read it and burst out laughing.

Sabine turned to him. "Ezra what's so funny?"

Composing himself Ezra with a cheery note in his voice spoke. "Zeb, you've got a fan! Loki's written you a Dear Santa letter!"

Zeb grumbled slightly but he was interested in what was written. "What's the guy got to say?"

Ezra started reading. "Dear Santa Zeb, I have been very good this year-"

Sabine interjected. **"** I bet the Imperials would like to argue about that."

Ezra continued. "Let's see he wants a nerf gun, some paint grenades, some new music, a... what!?"

"What?" "What?"

"His own personal Trade Federation droid ship!"

They was a moment's pause as they considered what Loki could get up to with that many droids at his command.

Zeb spoke first "I think I have to be the first to put a nix on that idea."

Sabine agreed with Zeb. "Besides," she questioned, "could you even fit that large of a ship into your current Pocket size?"

Tuning out the debate over the letter Chopper accessed the datanet and sent off a message to Loki. {"Well Christmas is over and the pranks are coming to an end. You have fun?"}

{"It was awesome! I'm kind of sad it's over. At least with stopping now I can save some stuff for next time, if I keep this up there's a good chance I'll be repeating myself. Besides I managed to pack a decent number of pranks into a small amount of time."}

Chopper agreed with that but thought that there was one person left that they needed to prank. {"I get what you mean but would you like to collaborate on one final prank?"}

{"What did you have in mind?"}

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The last few months had not gone well for the Imperial Forces on Lothal, after the debacle with the prankster who had caused chaos throughout the Imperial Complex. Said prankster had not been caught and after the Winter Fete had ended, they had gone silent, disappearing. Grand Moff Tarkin himself had turned up to take charge of the situation and though that had lead to the capture of one the rebels. That slight victory had been totally smashed however as the rebel was promptly rescued by his allies and the StarDestroyer he been held on had gone missing, not destroyed but actually stolen by the rebels. Tarkin's own personal StarDestroyer had been stolen, Agent Kallus had thought that the Empire would make an example of the entire garrison on Lothal but Tarkin had been strangely calm. Standing alongside the man, waiting for an incoming shuttle, Kallus eyed his superior cautiously and decided to speak up.  

"We are getting reports of unrest all over Lothal. There are whispers from Mustafar. Some people see the Empire - as weak, vulnerable."

"Not to worry, Agent Kallus." Tarkin stated calmly, confidently. "The Emperor has sent an alternative solution."

The ramp lowered and a dark figure was momentarily outlined in the opening before it began marching down the ramp. Recognising the presence, Kallus gave a slight shiver. Part of him felt sorry for the rebels.

Ever since the pranksters' spree the Complex's surveillance systems had been upgraded to top of the line, in the hope of catching the individual when they set up their physical pranks. No such luck but the upgraded systems were still operating and as the new figure was registered it added a new log to its database. At that moment a hidden program, running silently in the background, was triggered by the new information and started to run.

There was a burst of static from the broadcast systems and with a sinking heart Kallus realised what was about to happen. He just had time to close his eyes in resignation when the music started.

* * *

**26.2     [The Ravine]** (numair2304)

Kanan stood alone at at the edge of the ravine facing down the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor sneered. "So the Master is abandoned by his student but that I suppose is only to be expected, like attracts like."

Unknown to the Inquisitor Kanan wasn't paying any attention to the man's gloating, instead he was breathing deeply, gathering himself as he moved towards his goal. _Calm, I'm the one in control, there's nothing to fear._ The Inquisitor realised the man's destination just as Kanan reached and removed a inconspicuous tarpaulin with a flourish. Made unsure by this event, the Inquisitor for a moment hesitated giving Kanan plenty of time to seat himself behind the now revealed machine. Taking the controls Kanan aimed and pulled the trigger

PHUT!

The Inquisitor eyes bulged as he took in the bizarre projectiles flying towards him.

*Flashback*

Inside the Ghost's hold Ezra had been holding a conversation with a reluctant Kanan. "You need to get over your phobia eventually. There's a good chance we will visit an arctic climate at some point like Hoth or you could end up stranded in a loop like Petabee or early Narnia at some point and let's face it, having a breakdown in the snow after arriving will likely not be very helpful. Now certain phobias can be combated by gradual exposure as you prove to yourself that you can control the situation. You can call this a form of acceptance therapy and think yourself lucky the alternative was immersion therapy. Now I want you to use this against the Inquisitor this loop."

There was a thud as Ezra pulled something out of his Pocket and it settled on the floor of the hold. "Now, what we have here is the ASM Mark 49, I was able to get Phineas & Ferb to create and fine-tune it during a visit. It is fully capable of creating its own ammo from scratch and has a high rate of fire matched by a Hub's Phalanx Cannon."

Kanan looked over the machine in confusion, he couldn't see how what appeared to be a high tech rotating cannon could help with his phobia. "What's ASM stand for?"

Ezra smirked as he answered. "Automatic Snowball Machine."

"It's a machine that fires snowballs!"

"You have to start somewhere!"

*Flaskback ends*

PHUT!PHUT!PHUT!PHUT!PHUT!PHUT!PHUT!PHUT!PHUT!PHUT!

The Inquisitor seethed as he keep dodging. The frozen projectiles aimed his direction were an insult, however the sheer quantity and the velocity they were moving at meant that it was all he could do to dodge. Getting hit didn't do any permanent damage but the impact was strong enough to knock him back. If he attempted to intercept their flight with the edge of his blade, it led him to being hit by high speed slush. Lightsabers were exceptional at deflecting energy attacks, blocking compacted frozen liquids not so much. He was forced to change tactics. When he had no choice but to block, he was reduced to using the actual hilt. He came to realise that he was stuck, he was unable to advance forward and his own pride wouldn't let him retreat from such a assault.

Kanan was enjoying himself. For once someone else was suffering from his fear and he was the one in control of the situation. Ezra hidden off to the side watched over the situation. The growing smile on Kanan's face was encouraging, though the maniacal laughing was a bit worrying.

"Hauaha! Yes! Muahahahahaha! Feel my pain!" Kanan yelled as he fired off another salvo.

* * *

The Inquisitor walked into the dimness of the cavern. As his eyes adjusted to the change of light levels he saw two figures standing towards the back of the cavern. While was one was the padawan, the other was definitely not who he was expecting to see. Instead of the poor excuse of a Jedi, it was another member of the crew, the girl who wore Mandalorian armour. Where was the Jedi? Ignoring the girl he focused on the boy. "Where his your master boy? Has he abandoned you? Left you to face his demons."

To his surprise and growing anger it was not the boy who answered but the girl. "Not really, it's just my turn to fight."

He took in her voice, no fear and was that humour laced in? Her body language was relaxed. It was as if she felt that he was of no threat at all. The sheer gall of the girl. He ignited his blade, moving himself into form ready to attack. "This is not your place to interfere child. I don't know who you are girl but your presence is just a speck on my path."

To his growing ire the girl seemed to ignore the threat and turned her attention to the boy. "I see what you mean, he does like to hear himself talk."

He started forward, blade raised. He saw the boy smile at the girl.

"It's all yours Sabine."

"I've been waiting to try this." The girl clasped her hands together in front of her. "Boom."

The Inquisitor felt the Force suddenly scream danger. He opened his senses wide to detect the threat and heard a slight hiss. He directed his attention down to the ground and saw that it was covered in papers that were starting to sizzle. There was only time for his eyes to widen in incomprehension and the next thing he recognised was a flash and the force of an impact. Beyond the mayhem Ezra, standing close to Sabine, watched in interest as the chained explosions not only knocked the Inquisitor around but also left him splattered with colour as each separate explosion appeared to contain its own individual paint scheme.

"Impressive, you managed to combine your paints into the explosive tags."

Sabine grinned at the admiration in his voice.  "It wasn't easy getting the two to mix but I enjoyed the challenge."

Ezra not taking his eyes off the scene put his arm around her back and gave her a slight squeeze. "I like it, it's you. I'm assuming that you reduced the blast to prevent permanent injury."

"Yeah I've reduced the resulting blast but it will still leave a mark. I did consider using the more dramatic jutsus but this just felt more right."

"It's definitely kinder than what Naruto did when he looped in."

They both continued watching in silence as the tags eventually ran out and the explosions stopped, the final blasts having sent the Inquisitor sprawling to the ground. Beneath his multicolour raincoat he was most likely black and blue all over. Ezra took in the state of the Inquisitor lying there and determined that they wouldn't have to worry about him for a while. Even if the man was somehow able to recover quickly from the battering he just took, the sheer quantity of paint now sticking to his form would hinder him. In fact Ezra wouldn't have been surprised if the Inquisitor was now stuck to the ground.

As he walked towards the exit with Sabine, he could feel the question that she had been wanting to ask finally break free. "I'm not sure if I truly want to know and I hate to ask but what did Naruto do?"

"Thousand Years of Pain jutsu." He said simply.

Sabine flinched a bit at this, having unpleasant memories of that technique from one of her first times through Naruto's loop. She just had to know. "How did the Inquisitor react?"

"Slammed into the ceiling. For the rest of the loop the Inquisitor jumped whenever he saw a flash of orange."

* * *

Standing at the edge of the ravine Ezra took in the scene before him. The forms of the Inquisitor and his accompanying stormtroopers, all lying on the ground unconscious and standing proudly over all of them a satisfied Zeb.

"Not really much of a change to your usual approach." Ezra commented as he began picking his way towards Zeb, stepping over the fallen bodies.

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know? You've been sparring with Yoyo a lot, I was expecting a display of weapon skills. Not a simple beat down. Wasn't exactly subtle, was it?"

Zeb proudly blew on his knuckles, his good mood probably related to the indents on the stormtroopers helmets, each of them the exact same shape and size of Zeb's fist. "Why change what works. Like I said it's something about the feel of their helmets on my fists."

"There is one thing I don't get." Era said prodding the comatose Inquisitor with his foot. "How did you manage to stop his blade with your hand?"

Zeb smiled at Ezra and showed him his palm, a palm that was coated in metal. "Mandalorian Iron, I am a Iron Dragon Slayer after all."

* * *

The Inquisitor marched into the cave, the stormtroopers following in his wake. His confidant march was suddenly halted as the presence he'd been tracking disappeared instantly from his senses. Looking around all he could see were wrecked machines and cold rock walls.

_Where were the Jedi?_

His pace slowed and he started to edge more carefully into the cavern, his eyes darting around trying to spot his elusive prey. This careful manner was cut off as he reached the centre of the cavern and all hell was set loose. Paint, tar, jam, sparklers, more paint, feathers, glue, milk, glitter, rose petals, even more paint, porridge, flour, empty buckets, water, mud, silly string, rotten fruit and hundreds of paintballs went everywhere.

Outside of the cave Ezra carefully peered into the gloom and then withdrew his head back into cover. It looked like Chopper had gone overboard and thrown everything into this prank, everything bar the...

**Thump!**

Ezra poked his head back out and stared. Was that a...? He focused on the broken porcelain. Yep, it was a kitchen sink. Ok, everything including a kitchen sink.

* * *

With the Empire tracking them down and wanting to divert their attention, Kanan and Ezra were making their way to the Phantom to act as a decoy when they were halted by Hera asking for a quick word.

"You do realise that we don't have to face the Inquisitor here."

They looked blankly at her.

"Oh don't give me that look. Chopper can easily detach the beacon now, it doesn't even get planted half the time. Both of you can mask your presence, the Inquisitor shouldn't be able to track you. So why do you keep deliberately confronting the Inquisitor at the ravine."

Kanan and Ezra exchanged a brief glance and facing her both stated. "Because it's fun!"

Taking in their joyful smiles, Hera just sighed. "Boys."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 26.1: Hope that everyone enjoys their Christmas holiday or whatever equivalent you celebrate. This sketch took a while to finish, in fact I only managed to finish this late Christmas Eve. 
> 
> I decided to leave the music choice for Vader blank so that people could decide what they could think would be best to play at him.
> 
> 26.2: This was fun to write. It took a while to come up with what each crew member would use but I think the choices fit the characters. 
> 
> Did you know that the Phalanx is actually referred to as R2D2. I found it an interesting fact.


	27. TCAoaTTP 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coconuts, Not the droids..., The Siege of Lothal P1 - Crew, The Siege of Lothal P1 - Extras, The Siege of Lothal P2

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**27.1     [Coconuts]** (Cassturn93 + numair2304)

Kanan Woke to the low resonance buzzing of a mind probe trying to break into his head. Instinctually he strengthened his mental barriers and groggily opened his eyes. The view revealed wasn't the most pleasant as it was composed of Tarkin, Kalllus, the floating black orb of the aforementioned mind probe and the grey walls of a cell; the tight shackles on his arms and chest, restraining him complemented the picture. ' _Ok, awkward Awakening moment number ten'_ , Kanan thought to himself. He sent out a ping and was happy to receive to receive several replies including one that was extremely close. In fact it seemed to be in the room, paying closer attention to Kallus he was answered by a slight nod from the man before he started talking to Tarkin. So Yoyo was Awake.

_|"Kanan. You're Awake!? Finally!"|_ Ezra said through their bond.

"It's only a matter of time before he breaks." Kallus said, keeping to the script.

_|"Yeah I'm awake and are we going baseline now or not?"|_ Kanan asked.

"You have wasted enough of my time." Tarkin seemed irritated, maybe with the lack of results. The door opened and the Inquisitor stepped into the cell.

_|"We're in another musical loop. Those of us that are feeling loopy have been having fun triggering Disney songs. Hera's currently singing 'Hakuna Matata' to cheer us up._ "| Ezra replied. |" _Me and Chopper did a take of 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman' outside your door earlier and Yoyo managed to trigger 'Be a Man' in the training complex for the new recruits."|_

"You are no doubt unaware that Jedi are trained to resist mind probes." The Inquisitor remarked to Tarkin

Kanan came to a decision. _|"I'll break out later. This is seems to be a entertaining loop to try out some ideas."|_

"If he is the Jedi he claims to be, I take it you have a solution?" Tarkin asked.

_|"Ok, talk to you later."|_

"Pain. A Jedi still feels pain. And pain can break anyone." The Inquisitor raised his hand attempting to compel Kanan into giving up information. Taking advantage of the mental tendril linking them, Kanan piggybacked along it and planted a compulsion of his own in the Inquisitor's unknowing mind. It wouldn't activate while there was anyone else in the room but when they were alone the Inquisitor would be more inclined to verbal interrogation rather than the electroshocks. He might be prepared to put up with some discomfort for a prank but constant electrocution would be a bit much. ' _Now what to attempt with my time. Following Hera's idea, the Lion King might be interesting here.'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen." Kanan sang monotonously. "Nobody knows my sorrow."

"Rebel, can you please sing something with a little more bounce?", the Inquisitor begged. Kanan had been singing for hours.

Kanan shrugged, not a easy move with his bindings but he managed. Cheerfully he started a new tune. "It's a small world after all…"

"Anything but that one!" The Inquisitor almost yelled. Kanan had purposely annoyed him with that particular song earlier.

Appearing to conceede Kanan started a new tune. "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts. Du da dee. There they are, all standing in a row."

The Inquisitor couldn't help humming along.

"Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head." Kanan was trying to think of how the next bit should go as mentioning Mufasa was not going to work. The Seperatists might though.

"I'd never have to do this while imprisoned by the Separatists." Kanan remarked catching the Inquisitor off guard.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing." The Jedi innocently replied

"You're comparing the Empire to the Separatists now." The inquisitor remarked

"Only in terms of how it runs. We are on opposing sides." Kanan answered.

Watching from the cameras Loki kept recording. Yoyo had uploaded him into the ship's system to aid in Kanan's eventual breakout, but for the moment he was having more fun filming Kanan's scene re-enactment prank though. The rest of the crew were also watching on the live feed.

"Should we go in now or wait for Yoyo to do something to distract 'Scar'?" Ezra asked.

"Let's just let this play out. Let him have some fun for now." Hera replied.

"I'm more interested to see if he can get the Inquisitor to sing 'Be Prepared'. Sabine added, still watching.

* * *

**27.2     [Not the droids...]** (numair2304)

Mos Eisley Spaceport, a haphazard array of low, grey, concrete structures and semi domes spread across a canyon floor. Along one of its crowded street a full speeder made its way driven by a nervous young farmer called Luke. At that particular moment he had good reason to be nervous. Stored on the backseats of the vehicle were the two most wanted individuals on Tatooine, the two droids he'd met earlier in the week.

His nerves might have been worse if he'd realised that his other passenger, the old man he knew as Ben Kenobi, was in fact the most wanted in the entire sector. The Imperial bounty for a certain Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi had never been retracted. His worry was increased when the speeder's progress was halted by a squad of Imperial Sandtroopers. The squad leader, identified by his orange pauldron started questioning him.

"How long have you had these droids?"

Thinking quickly Luke answered. "About three or four seasons."

Beside him Old Ben was calm and collected. "They're up for sale if you want them." Obi-Wan had no doubt that the troopers would attempt to confirm these facts before letting them on their way but he wasn't worried. Mentally influencing a unprepared squad of troopers would be no trouble for him. He started to prepare himself.

The squad leader not convinced asked Luke. "Let me see your identification."

As the young boy started to search for his ID, Ben moved to take control of the interrogation only to find himself superseded. A strong Force presence suddenly appearing behind him. Impossibly behind him. Playing the squad leader like a puppet.

["You don't need to see his identification."]

"We don't need to see his identification."

_'What? But the only one behind me is...'_

["We are not the droids you're looking for"]

"These are not the droids we're looking for."

' _But how??The Force requires a living medium to work through!'_

["He can go about his business."]

"You can go about your business"

_'Inconceivable!'_

["Move along."]

The squad leader waved his arm indicting that they should move. "Move along, move along."

In silence the group moved forwards until they were out of sight of the squad. Turning in his seat Obi-Wan ignored the protocol droid, C3PO, and glared at the impossibility stationed directly behind him. Lying on its back the astromech droid, model number C1-10P, despite being unable to move managed to give off a sense of self-satisfaction.

["What?"] whistled Chopper innocently.

* * *

**27.3     [The Siege of Lothal P1 - Crew]** (numair2304)

Inside the Bridger's hidden basement a group stood silently. Their attention focused on the planetary report that the transmitter was projecting.

"... beloved citizen of Lothal, Minister Tua's life was cut short by this criminal band of rebels." The speaker was replaced by a still frame of Hera. Kanan and Ezra. Their figures outlined by the light of the burning Imperial Shuttle behind them. The voice continued. ""If you see them, summon Imperial authorities immediately. Trooper corps have been mobilized in an extensive sea..."

The broadcast was switched off. In the silence there was a moment's reflection by the crew on its content. Zeb was the first to break the silence. "Hands up those who dislike the turn this expansion is taking."

Pretty much every hand was raised, well those who had them, Chopper raised a claw. The only exception from this was Ezra who was busy on the datanet redirecting the Imperial search parties. It was unlikely that the Notice-Me-Not charm Hera had cast on the basement entrance would be broken but it was better to play safe.

Hera looked around surveying the gloomy faces. The crew weren't in the best mood. They had all Woken late, Ezra included, in fact they had all only Woken up during after the shuttle explosion. Hera noted that being knocked down by a blast wave and after painfully regaining your feet to then realise that what was left of the shuttle now held the last mortal remains of Minister Tua whose murder you were framed for was definitely not a good way to start a loop. She was finding it difficult to decide if the fact that the loop was nearly over was a good thing or not. On the plus they wouldn't have to deal with the situation for long, on the negative there really was no time to change anything. Deciding to focus on the present rather than the past, she turned her attention to Ezra. "So Ezra you've been through this expansion, how does it normally go?"

Ezra made a few last changes on the datanet and then gave the group his whole attention. "Usually by now the patrols would have located us and we'd have to move again. I've managed to get them focusing on a different area after faking some reported sightings. That'll slow them down but eventually they'll search this place. As for the baseline the plan we came up with was to get off world by stealing a ship."

"The Empire is looking for us everywhere, how were we going to steal a ship?" Sabine asked.

"Well not exactly everywhere." In Ezra's hand a projection displaying the Imperial Complex popped up. "So many troops were called out to search that the Complex appeared to be a decent chance."

"Whose crazy plan was that?" Kanan asked.

Ezra had a smile on his face as he replied. "Yours."

The shocked look of disbelief on Kanan's face acted as a trigger. Laughter exploded from the group replacing the melancholy with a light cheer, even Kanan was swept up in it. Sabine chuckled out. "So Kanan, are you crazy?"

Composing himself, Kanan gave her a wry look. "Does anyone ever say yes to that question?"

Ezra waved a hand dismissively. "Eh, depends on the moment. In any case coming back to Kanan's insane plan." Kanan huffed. "It actually appeared to go quite well." Ezra raised a finger. "We managed to sneak in." A second. "Located a flight ready Shuttle." A third. "Found and transferred some nearby shield generators onboard." And a fourth one with smile. "Zeb even got to pound some heads on the way."

"Sounds good to me." Zeb said smacking a fist into an open palm.

Ezra's face turned serious. "The downside turns out to be the ambush that occurs as we prepare to board the shuttle. An ambush that includes Darth Vader."

That last statement brought the mood crashing back down. Hera was the first to ask. "And then?"

Ezra shrugged. "And then the loop ends, don't know if we escape, don't know what happens next. In my opinion the best idea is to play this out as baseline this time. Running it through will give you guys the experience if there's a stealth anchor and you have to deal with this alone."

After talking amongst themselves for a bit the Spectres decided to follow Ezra's idea. As they started moving towards the Imperial Complex Ezra drooped to the back of the group wanting to talk to Sabine as she was trailing at the rear looking for something in her Pocket. He'd noticed that during the earlier discussion over their next course of action, she and Chopper had gotten into a private conversation. While he hadn't overheard much of what they were talking about, judging from what he had heard and the accompanying gestures they were planning something for their arrival at the Complex. He was curious and was hoping to find out what they were planning. Luckily Sabine appeared to want to talk to him as well, perking up as he approached.

She started talking first. "Ezra, you mentioned that Vader turns up just before the loop ends. Exactly how long before it ends?"

Ezra thought back to his previous memories and hazarded a guess. " If everything plays out on the same timescale, I think that once he makes his entrance we'll have less than a minute before the loop ends."

Sabine looked thoughtful as she muttered to herself. "That's not much time at all. We'll only have a small window to work with."

Ezra overhearing this, asked.. "I assume this is something to do with whatever you and Chopper were cooking up. Mind if I ask what you and Chopper are planning exactly?"

She looked at him seriously. "We're planning to hit Vader with a prank."

Chopper rolled up and joined the conversation. ["I've found the tar and feathers!"]

Ezra held back a facepalm, ' _That's what they've been working on'?_ He spoke out loud. "Is this really the right time?"

["When is it not a good time for a prank?"]

Avoiding Chopper's question and focusing on Ezra's, Sabine answered. "Like you said, it's too late in the loop to really change anything. Since that's the case we might as well go out with a bang."

Ezra considered Sabine's expertise with explosives. "Not literally, right?"

She looked at him askance. "No!" She turned back to searching her Pocket. "I'm sure that I had some neon yellow paint in here.". 

* * *

**27.4     [The Siege of Lothal P1 - Extras]** (numair2304)

The crate erupted and a fully grown Lasat appeared gasping heavily.

"Zeb will you be quiet!" Hera demanded.

Zeb scowled, he wasn't in the best of moods. He had been stuck inside a cramped crate and once finally free from its confines had been reprimanded for breathing too loud.

"What!!? I need to breathe! Have you smelled me!?" A split second later Zeb Woke up and groaned at his recent words."Why the karrablast did I say that?"

Chopper stuck for the moment in his own crate couldn't help wondering the same thing. Ah well, more to add to the blackmail pile, he thought as he kept secretly recording.

The Imperial Shuttle exploded, the blast wave throwing Ezra, Kanan and Hera to the ground. Their heads ringing from the impact they managed to get back to their feet, For a moment they just stared blankly at the scene, their minds not comprehending what had just happened.

"You did this!" A sudden shout from Agent Kallus mobilised them and they started to move, trying to escape the encroaching storm troopers. As the crew made their escape Yoyo Woke up in the process of firing at the fleeing crew. Taking in the scene and reviewing his recent memories he sighed muttering under his breath.  "At times I really hate my day job."

* * *

**27.5     [The Siege of Lothal P2]** (numair2304)

Whenever you Wake there is always that single moment of uncertainty, as your conscious mind integrates with your body. Of course in that instant accidents can happen. In midstride you can trip. While talking you can trail off. If holding a item you can fumble. Standing on the edge of a cliff you can fall.

Ezra Woke. His hand moved but not of his own volition. Sharp pain slid itself into his throat. A burning that contrasted with the sudden cold filling his body. Suffocation, his lungs were desperately working but were unable to draw breath. Panic, dizziness, the cold grew, his conscious faded and the world started to turn black.

"Ezra!!" He heard a voice scream, full of pain and anguish, as even his hearing faded away into nothingness.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine had Woken early this loop, before Ezra had even joined the crew, and so far she seemed to be the only one awake. There had been no replies to her Pings and she supposed she would have to wait and see if there was a stealth anchor or if Ezra was just Waking late this loop. At the moment she was leaning against one of the kitchen's counter drinking spiced nysillim tea. Ezra was acting as his usual baseline self with the obvious crush on her. He was even attempting to flirt right now. The relaxed mood changed in a second. Ezra collapsed to his floor grasping at his throat, gasping for air. His shields were down and she couldn't mistake that Force presence even churned and panicked as it was. It was her Ezra, breathing at such a rapid rate he was starting to hyperventilate. With no hesitation she dropped to the floor beside him, drawing his hands from his throat and just holding him. She could sense that Kanan was already on the way, the sudden disturbance in the Force drawing him in. Dropping the shields hiding her presence she wrapped Ezra up in it tightly, focusing feelings of comfort and safety towards him.  Even through this focused attention she couldn't help noticing Kanan's presence tense before moving in their direction even faster now. ' _Probably shocked at the sudden new presence_ ,' she considered before discarding the thought to focus on Ezra again. ' _What happened to you?'_

The door to the kitchen slid open allowing Zeb and Chopper to enter. Zeb started talking like everything was normal before he realised the scene he'd walked in on. The brat he just met that day convulsing on the floor, Sabine holding him tightly.

"Kanan wants us in the ... What in the world happened!?"

"I've no idea! He just collapsed!" Sabine yelled at him.

Tuning out the growing crowd in the doorway, she focused her attention on Ezra. Holding his head on her lap, brushing his hair gently as she whispered quiet words of comfort to him. His emotions started to settle and his breathing calmed. She held him close as he drifted off into a restful deep sleep.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hours had past and Ezra was still sleeping fitfully, twitching occasionally. Kanan after seeing the boy settled in a bunk had demanded answers from Sabine, well she gave him them, he was still in fact working through the memory package she had sent him. The rest of the crew were unsure of what exactly was going on; Ezra's collapse and Sabine and Kanan's reactions to it. They were even more confused when Sabine claimed that there was an ambush set for them and the Wookies they wished to set free were actually located elsewhere. Kanan, reeling from what he was absorbing, came out of his internal study long enough to confirm her facts. The raid had gone off without a hitch despite Sabine not joining them. The Empire had no idea that the their scheme had been revealed and had no real security defending the true location. And through it all Sabine had stayed by Ezra's side, watching over him. It was always bad when a member of the crew was injured in a loop but this was worse as it was her Ezra that was hurting. A silent thought, a quiet prayer. _'Please wake up._ '

Ezra moved slightly, lost in his dreams. Blurring images shrouded in mist, a cacophony of random sounds. A certain sound caught his attention and once noticed took precedence over the rest. A harsh mechanical breathing filled his ears and the blurring images slowed and came into focus. He tried to concentrate, to organise his thoughts but they felt heavy, awkward. The scene settled. A dark figure, crimson blade igniting in their hand stood before him.

_'I know you.. .Skywalk... no wait in that form your known as Vader, Darth Vader.'_

A blue light appeared before him partnered by one alongside. Two small lights opposing a pillar of darkness.

"Hera, go! We'll cover you!"

_'I know that voice... Kanan.... That's who's speaking... The man standing beside him.'_

Another voice this time from behind, Hera's voice he realised. "Kanan, look out!"

Sudden movement towards them from the dark figure. The red blade slicing down towards Kanan. Kanan reacted and brought his own blade up to meet its adversary. There was a clash between blue and red, the strength behind the hit making Kanan flinch. Vader deflected Kanan off to the side, destabilising his footing and then followed up with a Force push that sent both Kanan and Ezra reeling. Ezra tensed at the impact but something was wrong. Things felt somewhat off, a lightness to the senses, an absence of gravity. Some of the weight in his thoughts fell away and he realised what was happening with his newfound clarity.

_'This is a dream, I'm dreaming. But I don't remember this happening before.'_

He continued to watch, a spectator to the drama. Kanan recovered from the push and retaliated. Observing the renewed fight Ezra couldn't shake the idea that Vader was playing with Kanan, not taking the fight seriously at all. This appeared to be confirmed as Vader managed to grab both Kanan's arms in a one handed grip, sealing his movements and leaving him completely vulnerable. Instead of finishing the fight Vader just threw the man to one side causing Kanan to impact heavily with a nearby crate. He felt his body move towards Vader attempting an attack. He didn't even get close. A pressure wave sent him flying backwards, his flight stopped by a girder at his back. The Force grip didn't stop instead pinning against the metal unable to escape.

"Your master has deceived you into believing you can become a Jedi."

And upon uttering those words Vader altered his stance, his focus. Despite the pressure still restraining him one of his arms began to move against his will, the arm holding his still ignited blade. Slowly the blade was being brought to his throat, he fought back the muscles in his arm straining against the pressure keeping the superheated plasma away from his throat. Then the unexpected happened, for a moment his body relaxed and his arm slackened for no apparent reason.

_'I Woke up.'_

With suddenly no resistance, the blade sliced through the remaining air and into his throat. Pulse racing Ezra sat up with a gasp, reaching for his neck. His touch revealed nothing but smooth undamaged skin underneath his finger tips. Sitting beside him Sabine jumped at the sudden movement. She quickly reached for his hands and turned him to face her.

"You're safe, Ezra! We're at the beginning of the loop, just after rescuing the Wookies from the Spice Mines." Grabbing him in a hug Sabine reassured him. "Whatever it was, you're safe now!"

Ezra recognised his Looping girlfriend and relaxed into the hug, soaking in the familiar presence. So close he could feel the mix of Sabine's emotions, a blur of fear, affection and anger. His breathing slowed, his heart rate followed suit and his mind settled into calm. He couldn't remember how he started this loop but if he had been still reacting to his death it must have been bad for those watching. By the sound of it Sabine had been there, seen his reaction even if she didn't understand the exact cause. Ezra gave her a reassuring squeeze. 

"I'm sorry for making you worry." He whispered into her shoulder.

"Worry about yourself idiot." Sabine stated sadly as she clung tighter.

While they clung to each other, Ezra started getting his thoughts in order. Processing the previous loop's memories and thinking about the current situation he couldn't help giving a dark chuckle. They had once played a drinking game about who could claim the shortest loop, now without even trying he probably had the winning story and the nightmare to go with it. As the unlikely sound passed his lips, he felt Sabine arms tense around him. She breathed in, preparing to speak and he interrupted.

"I'm ok. I'm fine. Just a errant thought." He said soothingly. "It's not important."

"But... Ezra...what happened to yo..."

"Who else is Awake? Is it a normal loop?" He interrupted her to avoid the question.

It didn't work. He felt Sabine's mood darken. She broke away from the hug slightly so that she could stare into his eyes. He gulped, the fire they shone with scared him more than Vader ever did right at that moment.

"EZRA BRIDGER! DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND AVOID THE ISSUE!" Sabine took a deep breath, calming herself and continued. "Do you realise how worried I was? You've been unconscious for at least nine hours. What happened to you?"

Under the gaze he cracked. Sighing he spoke. "Do you really want to know what happened?"

He saw her nod and start to move. Slowly disentangling themselves they ended up sitting side by side on the bunk facing each other.

"Was it a new horror loop?" Sabine asked cautiously. They had all suffered through at least one of the existing ones and Ezra as the Anchor had seen more than his fair share.

He gave her a wry grin. "Nothing like that. It appears that the loop has expanded again."

She paused at that. The end she knew had them facing Darth Vader and a small squad of Stormtroopers. If the loop had moved pass that...Thinking of his reaction she hesitantly asked "How bad was it?"

Double checking his memories, he honestly answered "To tell you the truth I have no idea." He quickly held up a hand to forestall her next question. "I didn't experience the new loop, I didn't have time. From what I can tell, I died less than a minute into the new expansion."

"What.. but how?" Even as asking she came to an answer. Less than a minute, that was no way long enough for them to get the Shuttle airborne. "Vader, he killed you." No counter argument from Ezra. "But you're the Anchor..that can't... you can''t just... die..." Sabine's voice was starting to fill with panic over the considered event.

Ezra's voice was calm. "Don't worry, it won't happen again." He meet her shocked gaze. "I mean it, I'm convinced that event was a one off, just incredible bad timing. During the fight I ended up pinned against a girder fighting off my own blade. I Woke during the struggle and my arm relaxed. You can guess what happened next."

Sabine considered where Ezra's hands had immediately gone both times he'd woken this loop. She grimaced. "How can you be sure that it wouldn't have ended the same anyway?"

"Because there was something strange about the whole fight." He spoke slowly trying to explain his reasoning. "Kanan and me, our baseline selves would have no chance against Vader. He's a veteran of more fights than either us has fought. While I will admit that my memories aren't too clear but Vader seemed more focused on a victory on mental terms rather than physical. Overpowering his opponents, showing them how outmatched they are. At one point Kanan was completely at his mercy, wide open to an attack. Instead of suffering a fatal blow, he was thrown to the side."

"You think there was something else in the works beside our capture."

"Yes."

Silence fell as they both considered possibilities. After a minute Ezra shook himself and moved the topic on.

"Where's everyone else? I would expect some to be hovering nearby. I'm surprised that no-one has checked in on us by now."

"The crew's still coming to terms with the concepts of looping. They're all confused, I gave Kanan a memory packet and he's trying to explain it to them at the moment. If you give me Loki's chip I can bring Chopper up to speed."

Ezra started to reach for his Pocket and stopped. "I don't have it. Yoyo had it last."

"Well on that front, there's good news. Yoyo's Awake right now. He sent a confirmation message a short while ago with a question attached. He wanted to know if you had any Life Model Decoys stored from your sorties in the Marvelverse."

"A LMD? Yeah, I grabbed one last time I passed through. I thought it could be useful. What's he want it for?"

"He didn't specify, he just said that he had some ideas for this loop."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maketh Tua nervously sat in the passenger seat of the Skyspeeder, if all went well she would be safe this time tomorrow. That was the keyword that she couldn't help being drawn to, if. She made no excuses to herself, she was scared, scared of the same Empire that she had served loyally, scared enough to turn to the rebels to ask for help. The fear had been building in her ever since Aresko and Grint had been executed in front of her for their apparent failures and now it seemed it was her turn. Despite it being nothing to do with her Tarkin had heavily implied that she would be taking the blame for the rebel's victory. ' _The fact that it was his own forces and personal ship that they infiltrated and escaped meant nothing of course_.' She thought bitterly. With that threat over her head, she had actually contacted the rebels and offered them vital information. The only thing she asked in return was for them to protect her from the Empire. Part of her couldn't help laugh at the hypocrisy. She was putting her faith and life in the hands of people that just a few weeks ago she would have happily seen arrested.

Glancing over to her side, she considered the man driving the vehicle. Agent Kallus had been most insistent that he drive her to her shuttle. She didn't know what to make of the man, his attitude towards her changed depending on the situation. While in public his interactions with her came across as cold and impersonal but when they were alone he offered the occasional kind word of support and advice. It was all confusing. Her musings were brought to a halt as she realised that the speeder had stopped. Blinking, she looked around and realised they were still a few blocks away from her shuttle. She turned to Agent Kallus, preparing to ask why they'd stopped when a voice called from the shadows.

"Was wondering what was keeping you Yoyo."

She thought she recognised that voice and her suspicion was confirmed when one of the rebels, the young boy, appeared out of the gloom. A smile on his face directed towards the ISB agent.

Agent Kallus spoke up then, a smirk on his face. "Had to make sure that no one was watching Ezra."

_'What?'_ Tua couldn't help looking from one to the other. No aggression in their body languages, they were acting as if they were long time friends. She just couldn't understand exactly what was going on. Why were they acting so friendly towards one another?

The rebel focused on her. "Sorry for the surprise Minister but as promised we're here to get you out."

She couldn't help glancing at Agent Kallus' face. No surprise showed. He knew. ' _Is he actually working with them?'_ She found her voice. "But my shuttle..."

"Is booby trapped Minister, the moment you step on board it will explode."

That calm statement from Agent Kallus hit her hard, sending her mind reeling. If she had reached her shuttle she would have died. She felt detached from the proceedings as if she was watching her body from a distance. Without fuss she let herself be guided out of the vehicle. Her disturbed state of mind was increased when a women who appeared to be her doppelganger left the shadows and took her previous seat inside the vehicle. The change made, the speeder started moving.

"See you in a bit Yoyo." The boy called out.

Agent Kallus threw one last statement back. "Make sure you duck when I shoot."

Watching him leave, she felt a tug at her hand as the boy tried to lead her somewhere. "Come on Hera's just around the corner, she'll lead you to a safe house." Allowing herself to be dragged along, the full reality of the situation hitting her, a small smile came to Tua's lips. Maybe the future held some hope for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 27.1: All thanks to Cassturn93 for coming up this with this nice idea for a sketch.
> 
> 27.2: I've been considering having the crew playing through New Hope replacing certain characters but so far it just hasn't clicked but this short sketch just flowed for some reason. The idea of Chopper replacing Artoo seemed funny to me. Especially when you throw in the fact that looping Chopper is a Force-wielding droid. 
> 
> 27.3: The crew are now up to date with The Siege Part 1.
> 
> 27.4: Some extra ideas that I couldn't fit into 27.2.
> 
> 27.5: Ever since I saw the scene with Vader forcing Ezra's blade I automatically added it to the list of worse times to Wake up. As for saving Maketh Tua, that's something I've had planned for a while. One of the things that the crew will add to the list of things to get done every loop. Hopefully everyone will enjoy this. I found certain parts a real effort to write, I had the ideas but just could not get them down on paper. With this written, the story is now up to the Siege of Lothal Part 2 and I can now watch the next episode.


	28. TCAoaTTP 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ravine, Questions, Road Trip 2, Yoyo: Solo Looper

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**28.1     [The Ravine]** (numair2304)

Ezra Woke up to pain. Standing unsteadily on his feet he found himself facing the Inquisitor inside the abandoned Fort Anaxes with the ravine at his back. His left arm was limp by his side, the pain that flared when he attempted to move it confirmed it was dislocated if not broken. The various burning sensations from his body suggested it wasn't the only thing damaged. Ezra quickly caught himself up on his recent memories. Kanan had been hit harder than usually by the Force push. It had rendered him unconscious, not just momentarily stunned but complete out for the count. When his unAwake self had defended Kanan's body, in face of Ezra's act of defiance the Inquisitor had decided to teach him a harsh lesson. The attack that followed left him bruised and burned in various places, leading to his current situation of being weapon less and with only good arm. Worst of all it seemed to be a null loop with its usual restrictions, the fact that he wasn't able to throw the Inquisitor across the cave proved he was restricted to baseline levels. With nothing else in his arsenal at the moment, he glared at the figure opposing him. With a smirk the Inquisitor advanced.

"Your master will die." Ezra glanced at his dead to world master, prodding at him through the bond. No reaction, Kanan would be out for hours, there would be no aid from that direction.

Ezra said flatly. "Not today."

"Your friends will die." The Inquisitor trying to spark a more emotional response. Where had the fear in the boy's eyes disappeared to?

"Not at your hands." The usual distraction wouldn't work, he didn't know if it was a Variant or the extended time the Inquisitor had taken changed events but there was nothing in the ravine.

"And everything you've hoped for will be lost." Though his face didn't show it, the Inquisitor was starting to get nervous. Something had changed, events were starting to move out of his control. The Force seemed to resonate with confirmation that the boy's answers were truth, as if his words were confirmed facts.

A fire burning in his eyes, Ezra met the Inquisitor's gaze.

"You have no concept of my hopes. I refuse to surrender to you, I'm not giving up!" Ezra moved his body, working out his limitations. Even unarmed without a grasp on his full abilities, he still had years of experience to fall upon.

Seeing no fear, no anger, no hatred just pure determination in the boy's pose, the Inquisitor lost his composure.

"You have no master! You have no weapon!"

The Force sang with a call to victory. There was a thunk as a sword embedded itself in the ground before Ezra. A silver sword with the name Godric Gryffindor engraved below its hilt.

The change in events seemed to momentarily stun the Inquisitor. Ezra didn't hesitate, he moved towards the Inquisitor seizing the sword in his good hand and swung. The Inquisitor broke out of his daze evading the hit but not without loss. The hilt of the Inquisitor's double-blade lightsaber and a good chunk of the hand holding it, fell victim to the blade.

_'So Hogwarts is in this loop.'_ Ezra thought idly as he pushed forward the assault.

* * *

The Inquisitor strode confidently into the dark cave, the stormtroopers at his command following on his heels. His progress forward was brought to a jarring halt as an unknown variable entered the equation, gentle strings playing melodic music. His body dropped into a more prepared stance as he waited for his sight to adjust completely to the change in light levels.

The Inquisitor was soon met with the sight of the Rebel's smaller vehicle, the Phantom, but no real sign of the Jedi he was tracking. His attention was drawn to the music's source. There sitting down was an unknown, leaning back against the side of the Phantom, facing towards the entrance of the cave. The unknown human male, the music's source, was strumming a guitar. As if sensing their gaze, the man looked up at the invaders and gave them a lazy stare, seemingly completely relaxed with the armed committee he was confronted with. He started talking with a mild smile.

"Hey look, buddy, I'm an Engineer. That means I solve problems."

The Force started whispering warnings. Reaching for his back the Inquisitor drew his inert lightsaber, some of the more alert troopers started aiming their blasters. The self labelled Engineer ignored their actions and kept talking.

**"** Not problems like 'What is beauty?', because that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy."

The Force whispers were getting louder. The Inquisitor ignited his blade. Behind him, one of the more nervous fired off a shot. It completely missed its target but ended up burning the ground a few foot away from the Engineer. The Engineer glanced briefly at the burn mark while still holding a lazy grin.

**"** I solve practical problems."

While he spoke the Engineer had reached into a container at his side withdrawing a bottle. As the Engineer took a swig from the bottle something beside him, that the Inquisitor had taken for a piece of scrap, suddenly swirled around and fired. The trooper with the twitchy finger screamed in pain. The rest of the troopers hurriedly got behind cover, leaving the Inquisitor standing in the open alone. The engineer put down the bottle and continued to play the guitar. Beside him a counter display clicked up from zero to one.

"Fr'instance..."

The Inquisitor motioned to the entrenched troopers. They started moving, their eyes focused on the device,  trying to establish a crossfire on it.. One of the far right troopers broke cover.

"...How am I going to stop some big mean mother hubbard from burning me a structurally superfluous new behind?"

The device swirled again and there was another shot, another scream. The counter clicked up to two.

"The answer..."

From another position a completely new and slightly larger device opened fire on the panicking troopers. More screams sounded. The counter moved up to three.

"...use a gun. And if that doesn't work..." A new position and the largest device so far fired rockets at a duo of troopers hiding behind the same cover. "...use more gun..." The Engineer stopped playing for a moment as an explosion occurred. ."...s." He grinned happily and resumed playing.

"My arm!!" The counter clicked up to five. A empty helmet rolled in front of the engineer who continued to play.

"Like this heavy caliber, tripod-mounted, little ol' number designed by me..."

The Engineer kicked the helmet. The gun targeted and fired, shooting the helmet out of the air.

"...Built by me..."

The gun fired at another exposed trooper. The counter clicked up to six. The Engineer focused his gaze on the Inquisitor.

"...and you'd better pray... as it's pointed at you."

The cave was filled with screams as the guitar kept playing.

* * *

Ezra reached into the ravine's depths, connecting with the mind residing there. The connection was shattered as he felt the rage contained. He'd intended to follow baseline in order to build a timeline of certain events but this loop appeared to be a Variant. That wasn't a Fyrnock down there. Movement was seen and the creature appeared.

The creature, a small mammal, wore a bold black and white coat and moved with a confidant trot. The nearby Fyrnock's flinched as they caught sight of it. It passed by Ezra and moved into the cavern, ignoring everyone as if they weren't worth its time. The Inquisitor likewise ignored it, focusing on the boy in front of him.

Ezra was however worried, the creature's appearance sparked a foreboding but he couldn't quite rem... His body froze, he remembered. One Hub loop he'd gotten interested in the local wildlife and had researched them. On one list of dangerous lifeforms, this had been mentioned, not for size or damage but for attitude. Native to Africa, Southwest Asia and the Indian subcontinent, it's ferocity was almost unmatched. He called to mind its name, Mellivora capensis, the Honey Badger.

The world was precariously perched, the fragile peace it was held in would be shattered with the wrong move. The Inquisitor was the one to make that move, talking a step towards Ezra which was also a step closer to the Honey Badger. Bedlam ensued.

In the resulting confusion no one paid any attention to Ezra's actions as he dragged a nonresponsive Kanan back to the Phantom, the man's whole attention seemingly fixed on the violence occurring. Ezra winced as in the background the Inquisitor's screams moved up an octave. He recalled another fact mentioned on the Honey Badger's fighting habits, it's usually modus in a fight was to go for the genitals.

* * *

**28.2     [Questions]** (numair2304)

"Ezr...a...a..." _atsichoo!_ "Ezra why..." _atischoo!_ "Why do we keep...a..." _atsichoo! atischoo! atischoo!_ Kanan tried to ask a question amidst his sneezing

_Haaatzhing!_

_Achoo!_ "Sneezing?" _Achoo!_ Ezra asked to confirm.

_a qian!_

"That!" Kanan nodded, pointing at Ezra.

_Hatsjoe!_

This...a..." _achoo!_ "This loop...a..." _achoo!_ Ezra gave up on talking and switched to the bond. _|"This loop appears to embodying the concept that you sneeze when someone talks about you out of earshot."|_

_Atshii!_

Kanan realised how futile it was to try to talk out loud and joined him in the bond. _|"What?"|_

_Hatsing!_

_|"The Japanese and Chinese equivalent of 'burning ears'."|_ Ezra explained. _|"If you sneeze once without cause, it means someone is talking or thinking about you; sneezing twice, it means someone is talking or thinking bad things about you."|_

_apsu!_

Kanan considered this idea, while he kept sneezing. _|"You mean that every time an Imperial says or thinks 'those dam rebels...'"|_

_Ak-chhee!_

_|"We sneeze."|_ Ezra confirmed.

_Eh chyi!_

_|"And what is wrong with Sabine?"|_ Kanan asked. Out of the three Awake loopers, the sneezing had afflicted Sabine the most. She was now mediating in her room in an attempt to decrease their frequency. They could still hear her through two walls.

_Haanchhyuun!_

_|"She's either got a lot of fans of her artwork or a lot of enemies."|_ Ezra replied, _c_ ommenting on the quantity of sneezes.

_Apsik!_

_|"I meant why she's sneezing like that!"|_

_Hapciu!_

Ezra shrugged. _|"Best guess, she's multilingual, so she sneezes multilingual.'_ "|

_Ap-chhi!_

The cacophony of sneezes onboard the Ghost continued.

* * *

"Zr?"

"Ys, Knn?"

"Wht's wrng wth th grmmr n ths lp?"

"Th vwls r mssng."

* * *

"Kanan."

"Yes, Ezra?"

"Why are all Jedi and Sith dressed as Vikings this loop?"

"Just focus and channel the Norse"

* * *

"Ezra?"

"Yes Kanan?"

"You know how Chopper always seems to get the best photos of embarrassing moments. I've finally worked out how he does it."

"How?"

"It's simple, so simple that we don't even think of it. Ezra, he might have a soul but his original form is still that of a droid which means whatever is in his memory banks he can download and make a physical copy by just linking with the computer. He's has a built in penseive."

* * *

**28.3     [Road Trip 2]** (numair2304)

The Ghost travelled in hyperspace, streaks of light passing it by in its journey. On board the mood was cheerful, Ezra was happily experimenting with various crystals he picked up and seated in the cockpit Sabine while keeping an eye on the readings was passing the time by flicking through the pictures of their previous stop.

Ezra's theory on Equestria existing in this loop had proven to be correct and their timing couldn't have been better. They'd arrived to find an Equestria with no major problems occurring, such as Nightmare, Discord or other assorted problems, but in a time period just after the Mane 6 received their Cutie Marks for the first time.

They'd had to explain their presence to Celestia who had definitely been caught by surprise when the Ghost had landed on the palace lawn. Celestia had been unsure what to make of these strange beings that had arrived in her country via a metal vessel but after a bit of talking and some carefully selected memories shown via a pensieve, she had been happy to provide them with a diplomatic pass. The fact that she now knew that she would have her sister back separated from Nightmare within a couple of decades had been a incredible relief on her mind. She'd made them promise not to inform anybody of their future knowledge and had also asked to avoid telling her too much as to avoid changes to the timeline. They'd kept that promise for the most part but as they travelled Equestria they'd manoeuvred certain events around to try and give the future a better foundation.

Sabine kept looking through the photos, occasionally smirking as they triggered memories.

Here was a picture of Celestia and a filly Twilight in a warm hug. They had encouraged Celestia to act more as a family member towards Twilight, a favourite aunt as it were, rather than a slightly affectionate teacher. Twilight growing up had often viewed Celstia as her second mother figure and was obsessed with trying to be the perfect student for her mentor. Hopefully with a more familial relationship Twilight would be calmer and more composed.

A baby Spike sucking on a crystal binky that Ezra had fashioned with a core of Jennamite. That particular mineral was able to grow at great speeds, in fact it was also referred to as the creeping crystal, and while its rate of growth wouldn't be able to kept up with a older dragon, for a baby like Spike it was able to renew itself as fast as he sucked on it.

The camera only just being able to capture a fluffy bouncing filly Pinkie Pie preparing to throw a party for the diplomats who had dropped in to see how Gem farming was done. The party had been great fun, though they had kept finding glitter in their hair for days after.

She stopped at one that increased her grin, there was filly Fluttershy playing Doctor for filly Rainbow after a slight mishap with a trick. Filly Rainbow's slightly embarrassed look as a focused filly Fluttershy tied a bandage to her leg was just so cute.

Her recollections were interrupted when Ezra entered the cockpit and leant on her seat peering over her shoulder at the picture.

"You still looking at those?"

"Can you blame me?" Sabine held up the picture in question.

Ezra took a step back, jokingly raising his hands in front of him. "Stop... can't fight.... cuteness factor!" He heard Sabine snicker and broke into a chuckle himself. Still chuckling Ezra slid into the seat beside Sabine.

"That was a nice stop."

"Yes it was," Sabine agreed before casting a sideways glance towards Ezra. "I noticed that you made a visit to Discord's statue before we left, what was that about?"

"I just thought on the off chance that he could hear me, I could suggest some ideas for pranks he could pull when he broke out."

"Ezra!" Slight rebuke in Sabine's voice but some amusement as well.

"Hey, he's a fun guy to be around when he puts some thought into his ideas and actually takes other people's feelings into consideration. I did mention that it's more fun to have people laugh along with you at jokes rather than just laughing alone."

"Do you think he will listen?"

"No idea, it depends on his mood when he finally breaks out but I thought it was worth a try." Ezra shrugged. "Enough on that, have you made any decision on our next destination?"

"I've got LOKI complying a list of nearby systems to explore. How about you? Any progress on the whole Awake situation?"

Ezra sighed "Trawled the various datanets, databases and archives in range and couldn't see anything that stood out, I'll ask LOKI to run a deeper search later."

"So still no signs of anyone else Awake."

"Nope, no replies to the Pings, nothing on the various news reports that screams Looper activity either. There's a chance that one of Trekkies might be Awake but you know how they are about hiding their Looping status."

Sabine considered that. "We have no idea when this loop will end, do we?"

"Not a single clue." Ezra stated. "If it's based on our loop, we've less than a year but there's so many other alternatives out there that might not be Awake yet that the loop could last years or even centuries."

They sat in silence a while considering this until the quiet was broken by a beep from the console.

"Looks like LOKI has finished that list." Bringing it up on the screen Ezra started trawling through the list. "Need arctic gear for there, best to avoid that problem for a while, fish in fog seems interesting, wait what's this... planet named Primus... Primus is another name for Cybertron!?" Sabine could hear the undisguised delight in his voice as Ezra focused on one entry. "It's Cybertron! We can drop in on Cybertron!"

Beside him Sabine was reading the details of the planet more calmly and noticed something. "Err Ezra," She lifted her head to find that she was now talking to an empty room, Ezra had left.

Sabine looked back at the screen. "Boy is he in for a surprise. You planned that, didn't you?"

The list disappeared and words appeared. {"It's not my fault that he didn't read the details. Just because a planet is called Primus doesn't automatically mean that it's Cybertron."}

"True, now the big question do I tell him now or wait for him to realise on his own?"

{"I vote for the latter."}

Sabine considered for a moment opening the link and informing Ezra of his hasty mistake. She smiled.

"Agreed."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You could have warned me." Ezra sulked.

Standing beside him Sabine couldn't help grinning. Ezra had been caught up so much in his preconceptions that he hadn't caught onto the truth until he was off the landing ramp and actually standing on the soil of the planet's surface.

"I thought that it would become obvious as we approached the final landing stages, I mean just look."

From their elevated position Ezra looked out at the landscape. Thick jungle divided by glowing rivers of emerald met his eyes, the dense vegetation was everywhere.  In the distance a lonely mountain was the source of the various rivers. Closing his eyes and opening the rest of his senses he could feel multiple life forces in the nearby surrounding underbrush, all identifying as basic unintelligent and instinctual lifeforms. A sudden brush of air against his cheek made him force his eyes open and catch sight of a new addition to the overwhelming evidence that he wasn't on Cybertron.

"Ok you made your point, this isn't Cybertron." Ezra complained to Sabine, then gestured to the swarm flying past. "I think the universe throwing in giant mechanical mosquitos as an extra is just picking on me." He breathed in a sigh. "So where are we then?"

Sabine started reading from the datapad."According to LOKI, the planet is designated Primus." She paused for a moment as Ezra twitched, then continued. "It's a living machine whose primary function is a genetic repository for various races of the galaxy."

Ezra considered that information for a moment, that info sparked something in his memory. "Do you mind if I have a look?" He gestured at the datapad.

Sabine tossed it over to him. "Here you go, I assume we're staying here a while." Ezra nodded in reply, his eyes not leaving the datapad. "In that case I'm going to grab some equipment from onboard, some of those insects are quite big."

As her footsteps faded away Ezra kept reading up on all the data LOKI had collected on the planet. It might be nothing but the place sounded familiar to him for some reason and he was sure it wasn't related to Cybertron. A name associated with the project caught his attention and linked some neurons up; now this had potential but what exactly could he use it for. It was unlikely...wait, he thought back on the list of cultures he'd identified so far. While it was true that none of them needed that particular kind of help but there was one that had links in their home loop with a race that did. The question was whether that race existed in this particular loop. Swiping the details to one side for the moment he opened up a link to LOKI and sent a search request. After receiving an affirmative answer from Loki, Ezra tracked down Sabine and explained his idea to her.

"So what do you think?" Ezra asked.

Sabine looked contemplative, leaning back in her chair. "It's interesting, I'll give you that."

"You don't think it will work?"

"No, you right it was successful for a similar circumstance in the baseline, there's a decent chance it might work in this case. What I was thinking of was how far will we have to travel. Forgive me if I'm wrong but wasn't their homeworld in a different galaxy."

LOKI provided the details.. {"Correct, taking into account our current galactic location, power requirements and existing modifications to the Ghost's engines we should be able to reach their area of influence within 16 days."}

Ezra nodded. "I agree that it will require a lengthy trip to reach them but this represents a real chance to help them and can you think of better candidates. Besides if this works out we can suggest it to their home loopers to use on them in baseline. Should prevent them dying out."

Sabine and LOKI exchanged, well not glances but eye to camera lens. Sabine nodded. "I'm in."

{"Agreed."}

Turning to Ezra Sabine asked, "So what's the first step?"

"First thing organise a meeting with an grumpy individual who makes an old Yoda seem cheerful."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra and Sabine sat in the Ghost's cockpit as the universe flew past them at speed. The meeting and the subsequence talks had gone successfully. It had taken some bargaining and some security for them to be lent the object in question but they had it. To tell the truth the only slight hiccup in the plan so far, actually locating their destination.

"This makes the seventh system we've explored." Sabine muttered not quite under her breath. She wasn't really upset but she was slightly irritated by their lack of progress.

Ezra agreed with her sentiment. "LOKI was only able to give us the rough ballpark of their home system, I was hoping that they had established outposts in the vicinity that could narrow the search but they're either not there or hidden well enough that the Ghost's scans can't find them."

Sabine glanced to her right at Ezra then focused on the instruments in front of her, taking a steady hand on the controls. "Well here's hoping seventh's time the charm. Dropping out of hyperspace in three, two, one."

There was slight jerk as the laws of physics reasserted themselves and the view that had been filled with streaking lights was replaced by a planet looming over them. A planet they were pleased to note not only had signs of civilisation visible to the naked eye from their lofty position but had ships in orbit, one heading their way.

Sabine threw up a fist in celebration. "Judging from the welcome wagon, I think we have a winner."

{"Receiving a message."}

Composing herself Sabine sat up straight in  her chair. "On Screen." She stated with authority.

{"Yes sir Captain."} LOKI projected the opening transmission on the view in front of them.

Ezra sideways whispered to her. "You know that is Star Trek not Stargate."

She grinned back not bothered at all by the correction. "Close enough."

They turned their full attention to the front. There a moment of static as a connection was established and then a familiar image appeared on the screen.

Sabine opened the bond. _|"They really do look like Roswell Greys."|_

_|"Hush."|_ Ezra admonished.

"Calling unknown vessel. This Aegir, commander of the Thrudheim. You have breached Asgard space. Please state your intentions."

It was interesting Sabine reflected listening to the voice. The voice was just a steady monotone, no real aggression behind it but no strong emotion either, just a statement of fact. 'I wonder if that has always been the case or whether the degeneration has messed with their emotional spectrum.' Sabine mentally cracked her knuckles. 'Let's see if I can surprise them.'

"Heil. Gør þú svá vel, vér **leita** Æsir ****ráða."****

Sabine had to admit the Asgardian had a good poker face. The only reaction her words evoked were a slight blinking of the eyes and a reply in the same tongue. Her co-pilot had more of a reaction to her choice of dialect, though it was more a sense of pride and amusement she could feel through the bond as the talking continued.

_|"Impressive_ ,"| Ezra complimented during a break in the conversation while Adir was communicating with the ground. _|"Since when could you talk the language?"|_

_|"We had some time enroute for me to learn some basics."|_ Sabine replied.

She'd had a sense of victory when Aegir had responded to her opening dialogue. It had been a gamble that the Asgardian tongue would be similar enough to Ancient Norse to pass measure and it had paid off. Besides one of the best rules with diplomacy, actually speak the local dialect.

_|"How goes the negotiations?"|_

Sabine smirked. _|"Definitely a running success at the moment, that,"|_ indicating with an incline of her head towards the planet filling the view, _|"is actually their capital world, Othala. I've managed to arrange a meeting between us and the ruling body. We're just waiting on permission and directions to land."|_ At that point Aegir turned back to the monitor and spoke some words. |" _...and we've just received them."|_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra and Sabine stood together, shoulder to shoulder, upon the central podium in the council room of the Gladsheim, the Great Hall that housed the Asgard government. In attendance were five of the existing seven members of the High Council; Chief Archon, Penegal, Thor, Freyr and Assir. Their identities affirmed by the different coloured chains of office around their necks.

_|"Without the chains how do you tell them apart?_ "| Sabine remarked in an aside to Ezra.

_|"I was once told by slight variations in the voices."|_ Ezra replied. |" _Think on this, if this works it will certainly be easier to tell who's who."|_

With the proper introductions made, the conversation turned to the real purpose of this meeting. Supreme Commander Thor began, the chamber's design amplifying his words allowing them to be heard with little difficulty.

"We are curious. Why have you sought out the Asgard?"

Ezra took a step forward. "We hope to provide the Asgard with a gift."

Councillor Freyr spoke next. "Explain." A single word but Ezra thought he could detect a slight tinge of curiosity in his tone.

"We are travellers, explorers; Our goal to discover what this infinite universe contains." Waving his hand to indicate himself and Sabine, Ezra continued. "During our travels we have come across rumours of the Asgard, people telling tales of their benevolence and their honour. But such stories usually have a tragedy that travels alongside them. A growing problem to the Asgard's existence.

Ezra paused for a moment. There was a slight shifting in the Council's postures but they made no sign that he should stop.

"Long ago you decided to prolong your lives via the science you created and since then your species continuation has become solely dependent on technology. However since that decision was made flaws in your original processes have come to light. Your original template has been damaged and as time passes the imperfections in your bodies increase. If nothing changes then the Asgard will become extinct. You as a species will face Ragnarok, the End of Days. Is this not true?"

Silence filled the room as Ezra finished his speech, the Council absorbing the full impact of his words. Opening himself to the Force he could a medley of emotions weaving around the Council. A swirling mixture of fear, sorrow, resolution, acceptance and determination. Eventually the quiet moment was broken by a solitary voice.

"It is as you say. As a race, we are dying." The Chief Archon said. The entire room could hear the exhaustion in his voice. "Our estimates predict that unless we discover a resolution, the Asgard will disappear within the next century. Very soon, we will all be gone." 

"Everything that can be done, will be done! We must not abandon hope!" Thor empathically stated to the rest of the Council.

Freyr took up Thor's call. "Our scientists have not finished exploring their options. We will find a way to solve out physiological degeneration."

Sabine moved up to stand beside Ezra." We wish to present the Council with such a solution."

"While the scans of your vessel reveal that you come from an advanced society, the technology displayed appears to be below the standard that the Asgard uses. Judging from that it seems unlikely that you can provide an answer." Freyr said in reply to Sabine's proposal. There was no condescension in the voice, it was just stating what it considered fact.

Ezra had to agree somewhat with him. "What you say is true, by our societies standards the issue would be beyond their technology. However in our travels we come across many interesting and exceptional people. Most recently in our journey we happened across an individual who many acclaim holds the position of the smartest being in three galaxies, Azmuth. While the presenting of the gift was our idea, it only existed as a choice thanks to one of his creations."

"What species is this Azmuth?" A so far quiet member of the Council, Penegal if Ezra remembered right, interjected.

"Galvan." Ezra stated simply.

There was a murmur amongst the council.

The Chief Archon spoke. "We have heard accounts of the Galvan Empire and their technological genius. Our records claim that they withhold most of their research and technology from..."

Ezra interrupted. " _Unless_ there is a good reason. I happen to believe that preventing the extinction of a race counts and Azmuth agrees with that reasoning."

"How did you manage to succour this Azmuth's aid?" Freyr asked.

Ezra scratched the back of his head and gave a slight embarrassed cough. "We might of accidently stumbled across one of his high level secret projects."

Thinking back on that first contact, it had taken a while for the meeting to reach a civil tone. Azmuth had definitely not been happy to discover them. First he had complained about them landing without permission and trespassing on Primus. When they'd managed to get that sorted and started moving the topic towards his latest project he'd started grumbling about invasion of his privacy. Once Azmuth had listened enough to hear their idea he had been fully onboard but it had been a hassle to get the conversation to that point. Azmuth was a true genius, he was also at times a major grump.

"I still say that he should of had beacons up to warn away trespassers." Ezra muttered, lost in his recollections.

He was brought back to the present by Sabine nudging him. "Beacons broadcasting around a hidden project? That would kind of take away from the secrecy." She said with a smirk.

"He can't complain about unwelcome guests when he doesn't have any signs up to prevent them." Ezra argued.

"Ahem!" A slight cough brought their attention forward to the Council. There was a slight incline in Thor's lips that could be taken as a smile. "Interesting though this conversation is, I do profess an interest in what this Azmuth could have created that you believe could help us."

"Sorry, without any further ado." Under the eyes of the Council Ezra reached into a pocket, a normal pocket not subspace, and withdrew his closed hand. Holding his hand in front of him he opened it and revealed its content. There on the palm of his hand the Asgard beheld a small black and green device. "I present you with Azmuth's latest creation, a DNA Alterer he has termed the Omnitrix."

While most of the Asgard were mentally questioning how such a small device could aid them, Ezra continued talking. 

"With your permission, can we see if it can help you?"

After a lot of deliberation between the Council members, Thor spoke up. "You may proceed."

Ezra breathed in. Here it came. Moment of truth. "Omnitrix? Can you repair the genetic damage to the Asgard? All of them?"

"Scanning." A green light shot out, running over the assembled members of the Council. "Genetic manipulation on that scale will require all available power."

Ezra breathed in a sigh as the Omnitrix started humming on his hand. He'd been worried that the Asgard were too far gone despite Azmuth's assurances. In the baseline the Highbreed through their pursuit of purity had only rendered the last generation sterile, the damage to the Asgard's genome had been going on much longer and constantly to the same template.

"Genetic recombination sequences ready."

"What is the device attempting?" Thor asked as a warning message appeared on the console before him. An unknown energy of substantial capacity was being generated by the small device.

Sabine held off on the explanations. "Wait for it."

On Ezra's hand the humming and the vibration that accompanied it reached their peak. At the mechanism's core a sphere of white energy formed and expanded. Within a few seconds it had harmlessly passed through the chamber walls and though he could not see its progress, Ezra knew that it was growing to encapsulate the entire planet, even the ships in orbit should come under its influence. Just as quickly as the light grew it disappeared and in its wake it left a changed Council.

"Program complete. All Asgard within range of transmission are now fused with random species in the Omnitrix database."

Looking at each of the individual Council members, taking in their new colour schemes and in some cases alterations to their forms, Sabine couldn't help commenting to Ezra through the bond. _|"You're right, it is easier to tell them apart."|_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Our scientists would be interested to study this Omnitrix."

Ezra smiled wanly at Thor sitting across from him. "No chance of that I'm afraid." Offering up a pile of broken fragments, fragments that Thor realised were the remains of the Omnitrix that even as he watched were disintegrating. "That was one of the prototypes that Azmuth tweaked to the specifications required. One use only. Lasted just long enough to give the final update on the procedure before it burned itself out."

"A pity." Thor solemnly stated. Such a device was a true wonder, even now after experiencing its effects he still could not comprehend how such a device worked.

"Well Azmuth isn't one to let his secrets away. We were lucky enough that he let us have that one."

"True." Thor could understand keeping certain technologies secret from the rest of the universe. "Maybe the Asgard can open up a dialogue with him in the future."

With the remarkable turnaround in the Asgard's biological condition, the formal gathering of the High Council had come to a close. An entire world of Asgard now faced a new future with new bodies to accompany it. Some were delighted with the new freedom that their bodies gave them while the majority were studying their new forms.

While most of the council were equally divided between the two parties Supreme Commander Thor, despite being associated more with the former than the later, was marginally more interested in continuing discussions with the guests.

Ezra had agreed to that, while Sabine had politely waved off the invitation to chat. Instead Sabine had gone off with a guide to explore the various labs that the Asgard ran in the close vicinity. Ezra couldn't help guessing that she would attempt to route through whatever passed for the Asgard's munitions laboratories.

To avoid interruptions both Ezra and Thor had moved to a more informal setting onboard the Ghost, sitting down in its lounge room.

While they chatted Ezra studied Thor's new form. The obvious change was in his colouring. Where before a uniform grey, now a rich black with his eyes pigmented green. His body had elongated slightly adding a few inches to his height and including the addition of slim muscle mass. Judging from the build Thor now exhibited he most likely had enhanced agility and reflexes, and the graceful strides he displayed earlier on their stroll over seemed to support that idea. A gentle wave of the hand as Thor emphasised a point drew his attention to one final change. The hands changed slightly to accommodate the golden sockets or plugs that had formed on the fingertips. He wasn't absolutely sure which DNA sequence had fused with Thor but he had a theory. He'd inform Sabine later of his suspicions but if his theory was correct then this Thor could truly throw lighting around now.

"You mentioned a rising threat to the Asgard, now that the current crisis has been solved."

"Yes the Replicators. While we have managed some slight victories against them, the losses we suffer with each contact are adding up to an alarming picture. Our technologies work against us in this conflict. They are a machine race that learn from the methods used against them. Multiple blocks that work together towards a common purpose, capable of creating more of themselves by consuming materials in the available area."

Ezra thought on this."An answer could lie within one of the Asgard's new forms. One idea might be to check if any Asgardian has fused with an Upgrade."

"Upgrade?" Thor asked.

"Sorry, nickname for the species. Galvanic Mechamorph. Think a being of living circuitry, able to fuse with any mechanical device and improve upon it."

"Intriguing." Thor said, taking that into consideration.

"Another idea might to attack them from inside. You said that they work together, that suggests a link between them all. A unifying gestalt, a hive mind, whichever analogy you proscribe to. It might be possible to infiltrate it and alter their programming."

"That is one of the assorted projects we have working on, with I have to admit limited success. The speed and adaption the Replicators react to a perceived threat make such a task seem insurmountable."

Ezra hummed. "It might be worth letting Loki run rampant on them."

"How is that renegade supposed to affect matters?"

"Renegade? What do you mea..." In slight confusion Ezra started talking before realising what was going on. "Oh you have you own version of Loki. I can understand the confusion. Our Loki is the digital lifeform that runs the ship."

Thor was unsure how to react to this information. "Forgive my confusion but when you say digital lifeform, do you mean an artificial intelligence?"

Ezra waved off the idea. "Nah, artificial suggests that he's a just a fake or a mere product. LOKI is a good friend. His original template was quite a quirky individual and since then he gone through some weird things. He's definitely got enough personality to be called alive." Ezra smiled as memories passed by. "Quite the prankster he is."

Thor's curiosity was aroused, he had seen one thing today that he had trouble understanding, why not a second one?

"I would like to meet this Loki."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

On a small planteoid three foot weary travellers pressed on as they examined their discovery on this apparently dead world.

"Still no sign of life." Dallas murmured half to himself as he surveyed the hull as beside him trudged Kane, his executive officer, and Lambert, their navigator. "No lights, no movement." He gestured towards the imagined bow of the ship. "And no way in." He raised his voice. "Let's try up that way."

As the strode carefully over shattered boulders and loose shaly rock, Dallas thought on how the day was going. Earlier he'd been in hypersleep believing that when he next woke, it would be on the home stretch. Instead they had been woken early and sent on a search by their ship's mainframe and the Company's regulations. They had been directed to this hunk of basalt covered rock after their ship's mainframe had detected a unknown signal during their journey and according to the contract they either checked the signal or forfeit their shares from this trip. A sign of the Company's compassion. He sighed deeply.

The bulky suits he wore, a necessary evil to protect them from the thin atmosphere, added to his weariness. In all honesty he would have preferred zero atmosphere, it wouldn't change the fact that they would still require the suits but at least it would be easier to see their surroundings. The atmosphere was not thick enough for breathable air but was sufficient to sustain floating dust leading to low visibility. The sun had risen as they approached the signal's origin, the growing light turning the atmosphere a musty, dirty yellow.

The growing light had revealed the signal's origin and they had found something all right. The leviathan, for what else could he call it, a massive U-shaped ship of alien origins seemly abandoned on this rock. For now they were exploring the exterior seeing if there was an access point leading inside of its hull. A voice from his companions drew his attention.

"Looks like a way inside." Kane said, indicating a trio of dark blotches further ahead on the hull's flank.

"That's not all!" Lambert said a touch of alarm in her voice.

Following her line of sight Dallas caught on to what she'd seen. They definitely weren't alone on this world, there was something else on this world, another ship on the surface. However if the first ship could be termed a leviathan, this new vessel was tiny. Judging and comparing sizes, he estimated that it was about an eighth the size of their commercial tug.

With this new change in circumstances Dallas decided to call back to base. "Ash, there's something else down on the planet with us." All that came in reply to his statement was a hiss of static. "Ash!" Still static.

He turned to his crew. "We're on our own. No signal is getting through."

"What's the plan?" Kane asked.

"I vote to return." Lambert said a nervous tremble in her voice.

Dallas considered the idea but decided against it. They'd already stepped into the unknown, would taking another step make much difference? "We press on." Dallas stated, he noticed how Kane's hand was hovering over his gun. "Same protocol as before. Keep away from the weapons unless I say otherwise."

"You thinking friendly company?"

"Like I said before, hope for the best rather than the worst."

They moved forwards carefully. As they approached Dallas kept examining the two ships trying to see if there were any similarities between their construction. It didn't appear likely however, they seemed to have no correlations. In fact unlike the alien ship that towered over them, this smaller alien ship seemed more familiar in its outlines and composition. The closer they came to the ship, the more apparent it was that there was a small amount of movement on the ground beyond its confines, movement that was showed to two figures moving around.

As they got closer, it seemed that their approach was noticed  as the two figures stopped their actions and joined up, apparently waiting for them to arrive. Within a few minutes they were standing across from the unknowns, Dallas noted that they were humanoid but that was all he could confirm. The suits they wore hid everything but the basic body structure. Couldn't even see what their faces or what he assumed would be their faces looked like as the helmets they wore were solid metal. There was a narrow strip of what seemed to be glass, most likely to view through, but due to the material being tinted he couldn't see inside.

The vacuum suits he and his crew were wearing were bulky, awkward and necessary for the environmental conditions. The suits these humanoids wore were slim and sleek compared to the bulky thing he was wearing. There was another key difference he took note of. His crew's suits were utilitarian built for general purpose, the ones the strangers wore suggested a more militant theme. The thing throwing him off slightly were the colour schemes. While the suits were similar in design, the colour styling on them were different. One was a fusion of orange and pink, the other blue and green. That suggested personalisation rather than a organisation.

The silent standoff was interrupted by movement on the strangers side. Orange and pink tilted their head at them, and tapped the side of their head.

"Any idea what they're asking?" Dallas asked his two companions.

"Maybe can you hear us?" Lambert suggested.

Not receiving an answer orange and pink turned to blue and green. They appeared to spend some time talking, he guessed from the gestures and then both headed towards the small ship waving to them to follow.

"Orders?" Kane asked him.

"Follow for now but keep your eyes open." He told both Kane and Lambert.

They walked up a ramp and entered a hold of some sort. The ramp behind them started to close causing some panic on Lambert's part but she calmed down when Kane placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. Once the ramp sealed shut, a hiss started and Dallas felt the air around him move as the drifting dust seemed to disperse. The air was filled with silence as the constant grinding of dust in the wind disappeared. The quiet was then broken by a unknown voice.

"Hopefully we can communicate now."

Dallas was surprised by the voice. He didn't know what he was expecting but an alien talking English wasn't it. If he didn't know better he would say that judging by the voice, a young human was talking. Blue and green then removed their helmet and he felt his current train of thought derail. The voice had suggested young teenager to him and that was what he was faced with. A tanned human boy with black hair and blue eyes. Besides the boy orange and pink removed their helmet to reveal a tanned girl with brown eyes and... was that multi-coloured hair?

The girl smiled. "Hi there. I'm Sabine and this," indicating the boy. "is Ezra."

The stunned silence behind Dallas confirmed that his teammates were just as shocked as him.

Sometime later Dallas sat comfortably in a chair, happy to be out of the bulky suit. He even had a cup of tea in his hand. He'd considered a few scenarios when landing on this rock but finding a decent cup of tea hadn't been one of them. He took a sip as he reviewed the last twenty minutes.

After a shaky start, introductions had been made between both groups and he and his teammates were now welcome guests aboard Ezra and Sabine's ship, the Ghost. During the introductions explanations about the galactic scene had been briefed upon and even now he was still mentally reeling a bit from the information. The two humans weren't from Earth, weren't apart of the Company, they were from another race of humans that existed out in the universe. It had been hard for Dallas to wrap his head around, not only there were other races of humans out there in the universe but they lived beside or along with other alien races.

At the moment all five of them were all in the Ghost's cockpit trying to re-establish contact with Ash. Well, he thought as he glanced around, Ezra and Kane were working on the comms trying to filter out static to make a connection. Lambert had been completely distracted by Sabine showing her the Ghost's navigation system and the stored star maps.

"So this Tatooine is a settled planet in a binary star system. I assume the suns make the planet mostly desert?" Lambert studied the planet's orbit.

"In the case of Tatooine, it's true that it is a desert world but that's not always the case." Sabine input some commands and the dull brown globe displayed was replaced by a cerulean blue one "Mon Cala here is in a binary system and it's an ocean world."

"Is it populated?" Lambert asked Sabine excitedly.

"Yes, there are two races that live alongside each other..."

Dallas was distracted from the girl's conversation by the sound of success coming from the boy's side of the cockpit.

"Ca....in..ar.....u....ere?" Ash's voice broken by static, but the quality improving as adjustments were made. "I rep..t Capt..n are..ou there?"

Ezra stepped aside, allowing Dallas to reply. "Ash, Dallas here."

"What is your location Captain? You're not on my screens."

"We're still on site." He gave his surroundings a wry look. "You could say that we ran into some unexpected company."

There was a pause. Then Ash's cautiously spoke "Is everyone ok? What exactly has happened?"

"We weren't the first to arrive on the scene. We ran into a couple of people who landed before us." Dallas explained.

There was another pause.

"Did they receive the same distress signal?" Ash sounded actually unsure of the situation, it made a difference, Dallas thought the guy always seemed too confidant after he replaced their previous Science Officer.

Behind Dallas Ezra spoke up. "You mean the warning message?"

Kane looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean _warning_ message?"

A new voice entered the conversation. "I told you it was a warning!"

"Your input is not really required at this moment, Warrant Officer." Dallas hadn't heard Ash speak so coldly.

"Never mind that. Dallas, this is Ripley. Acknowledge."

"Easy, Ripley. We hear you. We're fine. Explain what you meant by warning."

Before Ripley could reply Ezra piped up. "The broadcast, it isn't a distress signal, it's a warning to avoid the area."

"That's what I managed to get from it. Who is that? Identify yourself!" The last part was a command.

"Yes sir. Ezra Bridger, sir." Ezra threw a mock salute to empty air. Dallas could spot a faint smile on Sabine's face as she watched his antics. Their relaxed attitude seemed to affecting him as he couldn't help smiling a little himself. "Were you able to translate the rest of it?"

"No." Ripley said reluctantly. "That's as much as I was able to understand with the time at hand."

"We can fill you in on rest." Ezra said. "The ship was exploring this world when it encountered a hostile organism. They had no idea if it was local or transported in. It infected the ship and killed the crew but not before they were able to leave a warning behind to warn off other travellers."

Ash spoke up, his tone still cold but it's ire seemingly directed towards Ezra. "One wonders why, when you understood this warning you still came here. Why exactly are you here? Do you intend to gain possession of the ship?"

Ezra seemed to ignore the tone and answered. "All we intend to do is deal with the biohazard on board. After that's been finished with, you're welcome to examine the ship yourselves." He smiled

"The Company claims rights to anything the vessel holds." Ash stated.

Dallas couldn't understand why Ash was forcing the issue.

"We're not denying you the ship, just its recent cargo. A cargo I might add that killed the original owners. In case you're interested one had their chest exploded from the inside out." Dallas suppressed a shiver at Ezra's matter of fact description.

"How do intend to contain it?" Lambert asked Ezra. "Judging from your ship's dimensions, you don't have a large crew or resources."

"We put in a call to some friends, they should be arriving..."

From his seat in the cockpit Dallas had a perfect view as the heavens opened and a completely new ship with a hammer shape descended. He'd thought that the first alien vessel was huge, this was bigger.  A shadow fell over the landscape, in his shock he idly wondered if the shadow was reaching the Nostromo.

Dallas could hear Ripley's voice stating the obvious. "Sir, new contact on the screen."

"...anytime now." the boy finished his sentence. He smiled. "Once the Asgard finished beaming up any of the hostile organisms they can find, I'll see about introducing you."

* * *

**28.4     [Yoyo: Solo Looper]** (numair2304)

Yoyo looked through the day's reports, his emotions hidden behind a blank mask. He hated loops like this when he appeared to be the only one Awake. No replies at all to his Pings or messages on the datanet, no idea if there was a stealth Anchor or if Ezra or any of the other Spectres just hasn't Woken yet.

When faced with this type of loop he had a choice to make, to either stick with the Empire or to break away and go his own way.

Early on when he'd experienced these kinds of lonely loops, he'd always taken a vacation of sorts, either by requesting a transfer or just leaving. He'd stopped this after one of his replacements had been borderline psychotic. The man shouldn't have had any command position but his loyalty to the Empire was unquestionable and to them his extremes had been useful when channelled.

The Agent had been constantly frustrated during his fanatical pursuit of the rebels by his failure throughout their exploits to bring them to justice. The Imperial zealot had finally decided instead of using a scalpel for the task at hand instead he would employ a fifty pound sledgehammer, no matter the causalities. In response to a reported sighting of the rebels in a residential district instead of sealing the district and sending in patrols, the mad man had actually called down a heavy turbolaser strike from a visiting Imperial- class Star Destroyer stationed in orbit on the location.

The fallout of that madness had been considerably. Outcry from Lothal and the nearby planets had led to the officer being made an example of but that didn't return the hundreds killed back to life. Yoyo never worked out if the Spectres had fallen victim to the assault or if they had survived and left Lothal sickened by the deaths caused in their name.

Since that loop he'd made it the policy to remain with the Empire unless he could confirm the character of his replacement. Of course staying in the Empire's employ quickly became a drag most of the time. The never ending paperwork didn't help, it wasn't like he could even set fire to it all, most of it was digital forms. There was no real change in routine unless he made changes.

The unAwake Spectres, there was another problem with these loops. Whenever he ended up confronting the Spectres he had to seriously downplay his abilities in order to avoid actually capturing them but he had to put on enough of a good show that the Empire wouldn't become suspicious at his failings. Trying to aid them was also an ever shifting problem each loop. Trying to create a link with the group was always problematic and it was always a hassle to get the rebels to trust him, Zeb especially.

_'Though,'_ thinking back on his past or at least this loop's past ruefully, _'Zeb usually has a good reason not to trust me.'_ This loop was no exception as his unAwake self had destroyed the Lasat's sacred equivalent of the Wailing Wall.

The best method so far appeared to be to send them information discreetly via the datanet. It took them a while to trust their new anonymous source but when the intel continued to be proved correct, they were at least prepared to put some faith in the unknown contact who insisted on the call sign Yoyo.

He glanced at the time, another hour of this then he had a meeting with Minister Tua or Maketh as she insisted he call her when they talked informally. Since the new expansion had shown her baseline fate, both he and the other loopers had agreed to actively help her where they could. Maketh was a proud member of the Empire but she was a decent person who didn't realise how dark the Empire truly was. Unlike other Imperials, she served the Empire out of a sense of belief in its ideas and a desire to spread law and order rather than her own personal ambitions. One of her initial actions as Minister of Lothal had been to bring new government-sponsored housing to Lothal. These homes had been a boon for the growing population and were reasonably affordable. Her faith in the Empire was shattered however when Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader made it clear that the Empire at its heart did not care about the loyalty or dedication of its members but instead demanded their blind obedience and only cared how such tools could be wielded successfully.

This loop he had managed to form an informal friendship with the Minister, thanks to some advice from Sabine about certain topics to discuss with her. One icebreaker was asking about her time spent at the Imperial Academy and the level 5 studies. An unexpected benefit of the association he'd discovered was that less paperwork was now being funnelled into his office. Thinking on his reduced workload reminded him of something.

He sighed as he finished another report and moved a transfer form in front of him. It was getting close to Tarkin's arrival, time to arrange for Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee (aka Grint and Aresko) to be sent to a training course offworld during his visit. He knew from experience that Grand Moff Tarkin would still target them for their apparent incompetence but at least this way it would just be a black mark on their records rather than their heads no longer being attached to the rest of them.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

As he stood in the Minister's office Yoyo felt like banging his head against the nearest flat surface. Events had played out like normal with the comms tower. The rebels had either ignored his warning about a trap or thought it worth the risk. The capture and then subsequent escape of Kanan from custody had also occurred and Tarkin was throwing a fit. He sighed, time to play a dangerous game.

Opposite Yoyo, Maketh sat at her desk, her eyes closed and her hands massaging her brow. She was sure she felt a headache coming on, she couldn't understand why Tarkin kept demanding answers of her. Her tone was gentle and tired as she asked her only support during this trying time.

"Kallus, I've exhausted every resource to find information about the rebels, but there is nothing to be found. What more does Governor Tarkin expect?"

"He expects Lothal to be punished, Minister Tua." Yoyo made sure that his tone was harsh. Maketh looked up at him in surprise and found him directly in front of her desk. A piece of paper was thrust into her sightline, the words 'The Empire needs someone to blame' written upon it. She opened her mouth to demand answers when a sudden shake of his head stopped her, he raised a finger to his lips and indicated the shut door. Yoyo blessed his stars when he saw dawning understanding in her eyes, he moved back to his original position keeping his speech harsh. "His own Star Destroyer was demolished by these rebels. He takes that somewhat personally."

"Well, I've doubled patrols, set up checkpoints, established curfews. I honestly don't know what else to do." Maketh repiled, the anger in her tone was most likely not faked if not exactly directed at him.

"Perhaps that is the problem. You lack imagination, Minister, when it comes to producing results." The door opened revealing Darth Vader in its outline. Yoyo tensed slightly as the dark figure marched into the room.. Yoyo was just glad that he hadn't had any loops so far with him being a padawan, apprentice or force user of any kind. Being in the same vicinity as Vader was always a source of anxiety, hiding an acitve force presence from him would be worst.

Vader came to a halt, his final position leaving him looming over the seated Minister. Yoyo could see the fear appear in Maketh's eyes and could feel that she was trying not to glance his way. "Lord Vader, with all due respect, you and Governor Tarkin are asking for miracles. If the rebels have left Lothal, then..."

Vader interrupted her. "If the rebels have left, then we must draw them back. And if they are here, we must draw them out. We will squeeze Lothal until someone reveals the whereabouts of these traitors."

"I'm sorry, my lord. I am merely a public official. I have no experience with such brutal tactics."

"You can explain that to Governor Tarkin when you visit him."

"Visit him?" Maketh asked, worried and confused.

"He expects you tomorrow, to account for your failure."

At the mention of failure Yoyo saw the slight ember had been in Maketh's eyes flare up. He mentally swore, Yes he'd been boosting her confidence whenever Tarkin went out of his way to humiliate her but this was really not the best moment to stand up for herself.

Maketh exploded, rising to her feet. "My failure!!? The rebel was captured by Lothal's Imperal Forces and his person was transferred over to Tarkin's personal custody! The Governor had a fleet at this disposal to protect his prisoner and was unable to prevent a crew of five people from breaking the prisoner out! How in the rim is that my fault, let alone Lothal's!!?"

Maketh finished yelling and was breathing heavily, staring as the black mask. The fire that had risen just as quickly fading away as she realised just who she was yelling at. Her face paled. Yoyo couldn't decide whether to be deeply impressed or incredibly worried by her actions, he quickly decided on a fusion of both and waited for the reaction to choose his next move.

Darth Vader just stared at Maketh silently, his mask hiding any reaction. Still in silence he turned and marched out of the room. The door closed behind the dark figure and Maketh just about collapsed into her chair, both hands on her face.

"I didn't just do that, I didn't just do that! What was I thinking!? Was I thinking!?"

Yoyo could hear Maketh's panicked mutterings as they escaped her hands. As he moved to calm Maketh, Yoyo wondered if her outburst would change the plan Vader had created.

He was definitely pulling the office's security feed before the loop ended, Ezra would never believe him about this otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 28.1: The Ravine (11.2, 20.1, 21.4, 26.2)
> 
> Just want to mention that the sword isn't infused with venom yet so no instant kill. 
> 
> Dell the Engineer, a great introduction and nice music. Team   
> Fortress 2.
> 
> Honey Badgers are scary!
> 
> 28.2: Questions (22.4)
> 
> Just some random ideas.
> 
> 28.3: I hope everyone enjoys how the road trip is going.
> 
> I have always respected the Stargate Asgard as a race. Yes they can sometimes come across as arrogant and condescending. However despite the threat to their very existence, they never considered experimenting on their neighbouring races as a acceptable solution unlike their offshoot the Vanir. I won't reveal which race Thor has fused with but I believe that people can figure it out from the description. 
> 
> Trying to translate into Ancient Norse wasn't easy. Here's what Sabine said. I apologise to any experts in linguistics.
> 
> "Heil. Gør þú svá vel, vér leita Æsir ráða." (Hello. Please, we seek Aesir counsel.)
> 
> The last section I tried to write from Dallas's perspective. An outsider's experience of the Loopers. I'm not sure if I succeeded.
> 
> In case anyone is interested I used a colour wheel to choose Ezra's suit colours, just used the opposite to Sabine's.
> 
> If anyone has ideas about who they should meet or what kind of interactions can occur in such a myriad fusion world, feel free to send them to me via the messages. I can always use new ideas. 
> 
> 28.4: Just some ideas of how Yoyo deals with loops when he seems to be the only one around. 
> 
> Hoped that people liked Maketh's rant. She has a point. The rebels escape Tarkin's fleet, troops, his own personal ship but somehow it's not his fault.


	29. TCAoaTTP 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a Star Destroyer, Not the Usual Five Nights, One ring to bind... wait..., What's your name?, The Lost Commanders, Snowman, You're Awake!?, Not all Sunshine

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **29.1     [Not a Star Destroyer]** (numair2304)

Hera saw the difference first, piloting the stolen craft towards their destination.

"Ezra, that's not a star destroyer."

Seated beside her in the cockpit, Ezra looked up from the datapad. Both he and Hera had Woken up after Kanan's capture and had quickly organised the usual plan to release him. So far everything in their memories had pointed to this being a baseline loop but the distant outline ahead appeared to negate that case. That was not the usual triangle of a Star Destroyer. He drew up the details on the datapad. The ship's registry was the same as baseline, Grand Moff Tarkin's personal ship, registered as Sovereign.

Looking up, they were closer and the details were clearer. He studied the ship's design. Definitely not a Star Destroyer, more curves than the usual Empire ship. In fact the thing was looking more like an artificial cuttlefish the closer they got— The clues twigged, cuttlefish shape, name of Sovereign.

"Oh Karrablast!" He said, thumping his head on the console.

"So what now?" Hera asked after he explained.

"We hope he's Awake, otherwise we'll be dealing with the Empire and Reapers this loop."

* * *

 **29.2     [Not the Usual Five Nights]** (numair2304)

Ezra leaned back in his chair stretching preparing for another night at Fredy's Fazbear's Pizzeria. It wasn't the best place to Awaken, especially when no return off his Pings meant that none of the animatronics were Awake.

Usually this would mean a stress filled loop of watchful paranoia and fear inducted bursts of adrenaline as he tried to survive the night. Not so this loop, he thought gratefully, the rules of this loop being particularly more flexible in this iteration. Discovering that he still had full access to his abilities and his Pocket had allowed him to make changes to the normal routine. Tweaks to the existing power supply increased its efficiency, if need be the doors could be sealed all night no problem. That said nothing of the fact that he could drag them down and hold them himself with no problems.

With no immediate worries about his safety the stress of the job was severely reduced, he was even starting to get bored with the monotony of it. This led to what he had planned for this night, the third night. He'd come in early to prepare a few things and then settled in for the night, sealing the right hand door but leaving the other open.

It was still early in his shift when one of his schemes took hold. He'd followed Bonnie, Chica and Freddie's current progress through the security systems, making sure that he avoided the camera for Pirate's Cove. The first sign was the screech and the heavy thudding of fast footsteps coming from the left hallway.

Standing and moving over to the left door, he held his finger over the door button but waited. The footsteps were suddenly cut off and replaced by a grinding. A red blur passed by the door sliding along the ground and he felt a tremor as the object's passage was halted by the end of the corridor and contact with the outlying wall. Quickly confirming the other animatronics' locations, he took the risk and stuck his head out to see the result.

His first thought was that there must of been a lot of momentum before the crash. Foxy's top half seemed to be firmly wedged into the wall and only his lower torso and flailing legs were visible, heavy duty grease smeared on the them. His second thought was polishing the floor just before the door with heavy duty grease definitely had made a change.

Turning his head to glance down the corridor he observed Bonnie in the distance looking down the corridor. He wasn't sure but he thought there was a sense of shock buried within those electronic eyes. Ezra retreated back into the office and shut the door with a smile on his face.  

* * *

 **29.3     [One ring to bind... wait...]** (numair2304)

The first thing to hit Ezra's senses was the cold and damp. The second thing that broke on them like a tidal wave was the grasping dark presence that was trying to latch onto his mind and soul, a shadow that pulsed with a hungry desire for power and a deep-seated greed for domination. The sensation was centred in one of his jacket pockets and only faded after he hurriedly threw the jacket away in .

He calmed his frantic heartbeat down, one breath, two breath and gave a deep sigh. Now where was he, recent memories, let's see. _'Lost in caves, travelling with a group as their thief, a group composed of mostly dwarves besides a wizard and a sole hobbit. Wait_ _— Hobbit! Wizard!'_ He searched his memories more thoroughly. ' _Ok it's official, I'm replacing Bilbo this loop in Arda, though what kind of name is Ezbo Baggins I don't know. '_

 _'First things first_ ,' he thought reaching into his Pocket, ' _let's switch on a light.'_ He snapped the glow stick he withdrew, it's pale green light shone over his surroundings allowing him do see the cold damp rock surrounding him. He shut his eyes for a moment and then reopened them letting them adjust to the change of light level. That dealt with one problem, now to deal with the one metaphorically burning a hole in his jacket pocket. He glanced to where his jacket lay crumpled on the ground. Waking up with the One Ring in such close proximity had not been nice. When a version of the ring turned up in their loop it had caused problems. They never had figured out where exactly the cursed ring had come from and it turned into a major hassle to get rid of the thing. The magic that went into its creation seemed to make it immune to most things. In the end they had thrown the cursed thing into Lothal's sun, they couldn't prove it had been destroyed but even if it had survived there was no way anyone could recover it. ' _That was then and now_ ,' he smirked, ' _I have a much larger bag of tricks to inflict on it._ _Time to go through the list.'_

He drew his lightsaber from his Pocket and threw the Ring into the air. The ring spinning the air reached the top of its rise and started its descent to meet the lit blade coming up to meet it. The blade meet the ring and the resulting clash threw the ring into the air again. It landed on the ground with a thud not a mark on it, in fact picking it up it wasn't even warm to the touch. Well he hadn't thought that would work, it hadn't when they'd tried it at home but it was nice to start with a basic. He reached back into his Pocket. Right let's see how it deals with a basilisk fang. He thought that it would have a real chance, the thing was like an enhanced Horcrux.

Two hours later he was glaring at the One Ring as the most recent attempt failed. For an inanimate object it seemed to be radiating a decent aura of smugness. With the last failed attempt he run out of ideas to test on it, at least ideas that were safe to use in such confined space. He'd considered using explosives on the thing but had decided against it for two reasons, one it might cause a collapse and two he'd have to find the thing after the explosion.

 _'Ok so it looks like a trip to the volcano is necessary.'_ Thinking of the distance to travel he groaned. ' _I wish there was a way to dump the thing there right here and now. Wait_ _-'_ An idea sparked. ' _If there is no choice but the forge, where did I put that?'_ He thought as he rooted around his pocket and brought out his wand he received from his time at Hogwarts. He went through the motions preparing to cast the spell at the rock the One Ring was resting upon. ' _Ok focus, the image, the location. Activation phrase hmmm how about Mordor falls.'_

He cast the spell."Portus." There was a moment when Ezra thought it wouldn't work but then he felt the spell take hold.

"Well it's been fun, hope you enjoy the trip." He smiled grimly at the ring. "Mordor falls."

He felt something that was approaching fear from the ring as space and time twisted around it making it vanish. The ground underfoot gave the slightest of trembles and Ezra felt like he could hear a wail off in the distance.

Across the breadth of Arda certain individuals stopped in the middle of their activities as a hovering shadow on the edge of perception disappeared.

Elsewhere in the caves Gandalf felt the change and in his growing realization said out loud. "A shadow has passed from the world."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra took a sip and put his glass down.

"Quickest way to derail an Arda loop. Beat that!"

The group of Awake Spectres around the table considered the challenge.

["Well."] Chopper warbled. ["I might not be able to provide a quicker way to derail a Arda loop but I definitely had a fun way. Me and Pinkie Pie were the only loopers around. I might have mentioned to Pinkie that Sauron hadn't had a birthday party in over 10,000 years."]

The group considered the sugar powered party pony's reaction to such news and broke into grins.

"Let me guess. Whirlwind loop?" Zeb asked with a smirk.

["Pretty much yeah. All of Middle Earth was invited to the party. Gandalf was hired for a firework display. I still have no idea where Pinkie got so much glitter from, even a Pocket has limits. The parties eventually ended when Sauron got so desperate to escape the festivities he threw the ring into Mount Doom himself."]

"How he'd get the ring?" Sabine asked in confusion.

["One of the presents he received."] Chopper answered.

* * *

 **29.4     [What's your name?]** (numair2304)

A slight breeze blew through the prairie that held two loopers.

"First gender swapped loop?" Hera asked Yoyo kindly.

"Yes." Yoyo replied as she worked her way through another set of katas, getting used to how her new body felt. She had a fight planned with Zeb later and she wasn't going to let this throw her off.

Hera sitting on a nearby rock watched as the new woman's movements were stilted at first but started to flow smoother as time passed.

"Why is your name the same, I mean you're still referred to as Agent Kallus. Most gender swaps have a gender switched name." Hera asked, she was genuinely curious.

"Kallus is my last name." Yoyo answered finishing off a leg sweep.

"I didn't know that. What's your first?"

Yoyo opened her mouth to answer and then closed it, realisation dawning in her eyes.

"I don't know."

* * *

 **29.5     [The Lost Commanders]** (numair2304)

On the dusty surface of Seelos a group stood over the smoking remains of an Imperial drone. The group was composed of Ezra, Kanan, Sabine, Zeb and former clone soldier Rex. All of them apart from Rex were Awake.

"So let me get this straight." Zeb said. "The Ghost's hyperdrive is broken. The Phantom's engine is out of commission. We're stranded in this system. The Empire know where we are. And the loop ends within thirty seconds."

The loopers thought on these facts. Before the end Sabine voiced what they were all thinking.

"Is it just me or have our recent expansions always ended on cliff-hangers."

* * *

 **29.6     [Snowman]** (Cassturn93)

There came three knocks on the closed door.

"Kanan? Do you want to build a snowman? Come on let's go and play. I never see you anymore; come out the door it's like you've gone away. We used to be best buddies, but now we're not. I wish you would tell me why. Do you want to build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman."

"Go away Ezra." Kanan said wearily. "I'm Awake and I know we're on Ilum."

There was a pause. "Okay bye!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Do you want to build a snowman?Or ride our bike around the hall?I think some company is overdue...I've started talking toThe pictures on the wallsIt gets a little lonelyall these empty roomsjust watching the hours tick by

Tick tock, tick to-"

There was the sound as if a needle had jumped on a record and the singing stopped.

Princess Erza of the kingdom of Arendelle Woke up, the song she was singing disrupted by the change in cognitive perception. In front of her was the closed room containing her sister this loop, Princess Kara, who had a Force presence she realised, a very familiar panicking Force presence. The temperature started to plummet.

Erza started banging on the door. "KANAN! STOP FREAKING OUT BEFORE YOU CAUSE THE NEXT ICE AGE!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Please, I know you're in there  
People are asking where you've been  
They say 'have courage,' and I'm trying to  
I'm right out here for you, just let me in  
We only have each other  
It's just you and me  
What are we gonna do?

Do you want to build a snowman?"

Kanan glared at Ezra. They were the only two Awake on Hoth.

"You hate me don't you?"

Ezra smiled. "I was teasing you, Kanan. Let it go."

Snow flurries went flying and Ezra sensed it just in time to barely doge it. Kanan was now starring at his hands in the same way Ezra usually did in baseline when he force pushed Kallus to save Zeb.

"I meant to force push you." Kanan said still looking at his hands.

"Looks like you can't escape it anymore. Good thing we're on Hoth. You can't send the planet into an eternal winter if it's already in one." Ezra replied with a wider smile. He turned to walk out. "Come on Kanan let's go build an ice castle to use as a base."

"Well someone hates me!" Kanan exclaimed and followed his padawan. He remained himself of the Jedi code. From what he knew about how Elsa's ice powers they worked similar to the Force. Repression of emotions equals bad.

* * *

 **29.7     [You're Awake!?]** (numair2304)

Yoyo marched forward to meet Moff Tarkin as his shuttle made its final descent. It had been another solo loop for Yoyo with a baseline run leading to a destroyed Star Destroyer. Well he considered not exactly a solo loop, somewhere out there someone was Awake. They had sent off a Ping less than three weeks ago to which he'd replied in turn but all that told him was that someone was Awake not who or where. Judging from the strength of the Ping they were a long way off, outside the sector distant light years away.

Reaching the spot he'd mentally marked he came to a halt and waited at attention as the shuttle settled on the ground. The ramp started to descend and as it opened Yoyo's ear twitched. There was a something new in the background, so quiet that you could believe it was nothing but imagination. Was that music?

He turned a more calculating eye on the opening hatch. There was Tarkin but he wasn't his usual composed self. Studying Tarkin's form as he approached Yoyo noted that Tarkin was paler than usual and focusing on the man's face thought he caught a twitch. The music in the background was getting clearer and seemed familiar.

Tarkin came to a stop beside him and Yoyo, still studying the changes, repeated his next words from rote.

"We are getting reports of unrest all over Lothal. There are whispers from Mustafar. Some people see the Empire as weak, vulnerable."

"Not to worry, Agent Kallus." No mistaking it this time, Tarkin definitely twitched. His voice continued unsurely like he didn't exactly comprehend what he was saying. "The Emperor has decided to give the matter—" Tarkin gave a nervous gulp. "His personal attention."

Yoyo's mind froze as his ears processed that statement, the Emperor in person! The music suddenly swelled as a dark figure strode out of the Imperial Shuttle flanked by two red guards.

That's not Palpatine was the first thing that ran through Yoyo's mind. It was still Darth Vader stepping foot upon Lothal but a Vader with the usual black attire altered slightly by the presence of silver trim. The accompanying duo of red guards were also a change.

"Emperor Vader. Welcome to Lothal." Tarkin said.

Yoyo's mind was whirling, trying to guess what the Variant he was in would lead to. He'd been so sure it was baseline, the only change he'd known was the other looper... out... there... He finally recognised the music, the Imperial March, and realising the significance fired off a Ping. Only someone paying attention would have noticed but there was a slight shift in Emperor Vader's posture. The music cut off and Yoyo felt the blank visage focus on him as a Ping returned in reply.

"Agent Kallus, operating number ISB-021. I would have words with you." The heavy tones of Vader stated.

Yoyo saluted. "Sir."

"Leave us." Vader said, addressing that command to Tarkin and the guards. As they made to leave Vader continued. "Oh and Tarkin I will be talking to you later about your negligence."

"Negligence my lord?" Tarkin stumbled to a halt, the two guards stopping beside him.

"Do you deny that an insurgent escaped from your custody? It's not an every day event that a crew of just five individuals were apparently able to infiltrate and then escape your personal ship and its escort group with the prisoner."

Tarkin interjected, trying to create an excuse."My lord the fleet that aided them-"

"Only turned up after a successful escape from your flag ship." Vader countered.

Fear flashed in Tarkin's eyes, if his skin tone was pale before it was approaching pure white now.

"Yes my lord." Tarkin bowed in depressed acknowledgement.

Yoyo had to suppress a smile at the slight run Tarkin left the room at, the guards escorting him. Now that they were alone, Yoyo was interested to see who had replaced Vader this loop

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"YOU'RE REALLY VADER!? YOU'RE LOOPING!!?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

After a small bout of hyperventilation and a few drinks Yoyo was feeling more mellow with the situation he found himself him, though he was glad that he was seated now. He wasn't entirely sure that his legs would support him at the moment.

"So, you're the Anchor for a completely different set of Star Wars loops." Yoyo said, still trying to wrap his head around that concept.

Anakin stretched in the chair opposite him and topped up the glasses in front of them. "Joint Anchor, you could say since me and Luke end up sharing a loop most of the time. We seem to cover the six original films and the Clone Wars. This Ezra Bridger is your Anchor you say," Yoyo nodded in answer, "and you have an assortment of loopers."

Yoyo did some quick calculation. "Seven in total including Ezra, plus a pseudo looper."

"Pseudo?"

"LOKI's a digital lifeform that we carry through the end of the loop in our Pockets. Ezra copied Chopper's memory originally so that he would have someone with him in the loops, LOKI's grown since then and we take turns working with the guy."

Yoyo took a decent sip of the Kowakian Rum before asking, "How are you the new Emperor? What exactly happened to Palpatine?"

"I was the right hand with the Emperor's absence the Empire's chain of command defaults to me. Alas, I'm afraid that our beloved Emperor Palatine is unable to continue his duties." Anakin said with a touch of humour in his voice. "While inspecting his latest project of mass destruction he unfortunately tripped and fell into the main power core."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Nut just stared at the screen and rubbed her eyes. Nope, still the same information displayed.

There was Anakin talking to another Star Wars looper but from a branch she didn't even know was activated.

Nut facepalmed, how in the name of Yggdrasil had she missed a new branch of the Stars Wars universe opening up, let alone multiple loopers activating in that branch. It was bad enough when Yoda being Awake had slipped her by.

She starting looking through the files, now that she knew that there was something to find she easily found the data trail for the new loop. The original permission came from her console but how could that be? She couldn't remember triggering a new branch.

Ah...Wait...There had been that moment that she'd been so buried with the paperwork that she had signed something without fully reading the document in question. The system had proclaimed a new looper activated but she hadn't been able to figure out who. At the time she was glad that she could confirm that it wasn't Palpy. She belatedly remembered one of the error messages thrown up by her hasty search for the new looper.

**{"ERROR! $ B!NE W &EN IS ERROR!"}**

She checked the data, there! One Sabine Wren designated as a stable looper in the Rebels branch albeit with a damaged history.

Ok run it through logically. If Ezra Bridger was activated as a new Anchor for a new branch, the existing protocols would start working. The system without different instructions would automatically choose individuals to activate as loopers depending on their psychological proximity to the anchor and the existing damage to their code.

Bad news, she'd had a loop running without realising and with a new batch of loopers. Good news, it was surprising stable despite the damage to people's baselines. In fact the system was repairing the damage as time passed.

She made a note to keep track of how things progressed but for now let's things continue as they were.

* * *

 **29.8     [Not all sunshine]** (numair2304)

Ezra had his parents back this loop but the strangest thing was that he wasn't spending time with them. Instead he was holed up in his old tower.

"So why aren't you spending time with your parents this loop?" Kanan asked.

Ezra sighed. "Apparently my parents take after Senator Trayvis this loop."

"Ah." was the only thing Kanan could think to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 29.1: Just an idea I had when I noticed what Tarkin's ship was called.
> 
> 29.2: Horror loops are not fun so chances like this don't come along often.
> 
> 29.3: How many methods of destruction can you think to try on the One Ring?
> 
> 29.4: Does anyone know Kallus's full name, I can't find it mentioned.
> 
> 29.5: Loop extended up to 2x03 The Lost Commanders. I have plans for the Joopa.
> 
> 29.6: Message from Cassturn93: Ezra teasing Kanan about his fear by singing frozen songs. Also how Kanan got Elsa's powers, and how they found out. Ok this is just Kanan and Frozen rotfl 😂 ☃️❄️🌬⛄️🌨
> 
> 29.7: Guest stars (Anchor Anakin Skywalker & Admin Nut) from Crossoverpairinglover's 'Star Wars Episode Infinity'.


	30. TCAoaTTP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Icy Changes, Make a Connection, Relics of the Old Republic, Preventing Impact

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

 **30.1     [Icy Changes]** (numair2304)

Inside his cabin Kanan sat in a seiza pose mediating, his breathing calm and composed and raised his upturned hands together. The air swirled and space which had held nothing more than air now held a piece of crystallised ice. The crystal hovered just above his palms before rising, its form shifting into different crystalline structures as its path started to form an orbit around him.

"Ezra told me that you'd picked up a new trick but I had to see it to believe it."

Holding onto his focus Kanan opened his eyes to see Hera with her arms crossed standing inside the door leaning against the frame watching the display. Hera continued watching the ice hover above Kanan's head for a moment and then turned her focus towards Kanan.

"How are you coping with the change?" Hera asked kindly though there was a slight touch of worry behind the question.

Since their previous intervention the crew had been working on helping Kanan deal with his complex towards cold temperatures and the accompanying conditions. So far in the expansions despite travelling beyond the Lothal system and landing upon quite a few different worlds their paths hadn't led to a ice planet but that luck couldn't hold forever. With the crew united in this goal and the pranks kept to a minimum (Chopper also shared a dislike of cold wet conditions) it appeared that Kanan had made significant progress in dealing with the problem.

When confronted with the presence of cold temperatures, ice or snow Kanan while still not happy with the situation was also not having a mental break down. This new twist the loops had thrown however, Hera didn't know how Kanan would take it, if this new change would cause a setback or an improvement in Kanan's progress. Despite the progress Kanan had made, Hera had noticied how Kanan still occasionally flinched strongly whenever he felt a chill before composing himself.

"I admit that the first moment wasn't my best." Kanan said wryly thinking back on the first moment of Awakening with these powers.

The terror that griped him, the same burst of fear fuelling a growth of ice. Within moments a sheet of fifteen inch ice covered the room coating the floor, walls and ceiling. A hiss of melting ice signalled that Ezra had given up on just banging and yelling at the door and had moved on to cutting his way through it with a lightsaber.

"Yeah definitely wasn't my finest moment." Kanan said smiling at Hera to calm her, detecting the worry she was trying to keep buried. "But after Ezra calmed me down I had plenty of time in the loop to learn, spent the loop coming to terms with this power. Definitely didn't expect them to carry over. It's strange though."

Hera studied his face and understanding dawned.

"You can feel it all the time, can't you?" Hera asked.

Ever since she'd joined the loops Hera had had her experiences, the way she perceived the world widened. First due to a Variant loop as a padawan she could now feel the Force, its movements, its currents, its guidance. Thanks to that she'd been able to make blind jumps to Hyperspace more often, trusting in the Force to guide her towards a safe path. And thanks to an outside loop she now had a magical core. Internally magic hummed throughout her body, its presence a subtle touch that was always there supporting her in unison with the Force.

Hera moved into the room and took a seat on the storage locker. She started to reach for Kanan's hand to show support but stopped and withdrew her own. She didn't want to disrupt his focus. Instead Hera shut her eyes and immersed herself in the Force to study his state of mind. What she found made her pleasantly surprised. There was no real fear, some anxiety for sure but for the most part peace reigned.

"I will admit that I'm surprised that you're coping so well." Hera said.

Kanan felt the chill in his bones, the cold... but something about this cold just... comforts him, reassures him.

"I was scared of the cold for such a long time but now part of me finds it kinda comforting. Like it's just a normal extension of myself. I will admit that a small part of me feels that I should be freaking out right now but the rest of me is calm and accepting of the change."

Kanan waved a hand and with a twist a second crystal joined the first in its orbit.

"So how powerful are you? I mean are you building yourself an ice castle?" Hera asked, watching the floating ice.

Kanan gave a chuckle. "I won't be building entire buildings any time soon. During my time in Arendelle I could build an ice palace if I put my mind to it but that level of power escapes me now. I think the cryokinesis resonated with its home loop giving me a similar level of power to Elsa's original. If I want that level of power again I'll have to work for it I believe. My control is still as good as I honed it but control can be improved. Ezra has an idea that if I learn the Soul of Ice technique from Ranma's verse it would help improve my power and control."

"Does Ezra know the technique?"

"Doesn't have a clue. He's heard about it in passing. I don't know how he intends to ask how it works. I mean arranging a meeting is not really a possibility. I think Ezra intends to ask Twilight the next time he sees her whether she has studied it or to pass a message on. As for now though I will admit I'm happy to work at my own pace for now."

There was another twist and a third crystal joined the rest.

"So what's the plan for the future?"

The crystals started an intricate dance above Kanan's head.

"Move forward, adapt." Kanan smiled and the crystals collided, shattering, their dance ending in a light dust of snow that fell.. "And acclimatise to the changes."

"I suppose that's all we can do, I mean-" Hera registered Kanan's last words. "Was that a weather joke?"

Kanan smiled innocently at her and then a snowball fell on her head.

"Kanan!"

* * *

 **30.2     [Make a Connection]** (numair2304)

"You have to make a connection–"

"?taht ekil gnikaeps uoy era yhW ?nanaK"

* * *

"You have to make a connection–"

"224B616E616E2C576879617265796F75737065616B696E676C696B65746861743F22"

* * *

"You have to make a connection–"

"kanan? qatlh Dajatlh'a' 'e'? "

* * *

"You have to make a connection–"

"Канан? Почему вы так говорите?"

* * *

"You have to make a connection–"

"kANAN? wHY ARE YOU SPEAKING THAT WAY?"

* * *

"You have to make a connection-"

"Uh, Kanan?" Ezra said nervously.

"What is it, Ezra?" Kanan asked.

"Good evening my good sir." Came a voice from behind Kanan.

Kanan turned around and upon sighting the owner of the voice goggled. There stood a yellow cat wearing a purple waistcoat and a matching porkpie hat. The cat continued.

"Pardon for the interruption but I appear to have misplaced New York city somehow. I don't suppose you gentlemen could give me directions or put me in contact with Officer Dibble."

* * *

"You have to make a connection–" Kanan noticed Ezra's stare. "What!?"

Kanan turned and looked down.

"Ezra is that what I think it is?"

"Yep that's a tribble." Ezra confirmed.

They stared at the small bundle of purring fur. It was pretty cute for an organism that had a tendency to cause ecological disasters.

"I wonder if that means Kirk is around this loop, they seem to follow him." Ezra pondered.

* * *

Kanan, Awake, was giving the usual lesson to an Unawake Ezra.

"You have to make a connection–"

Kanan felt his young padawan's Force presence swell signifying that he was now Awake. Ezra's eyes glazed over and he collapsed on the grass.

"Ezra, are you ok?" Kanan worriedly asked.

 _|"So tired, so so tired."|_ came the reply. Apparently too tired to speak out loud Ezra was relying on the bond to communicate, even Ezra's mental voice sounded exhausted.

Kanan couldn't sense anything wrong, no distraught emotions just weary exhaustion. Kanan considered the possibilities and smiled, "Let me guess the Gurren Lagann loop."

 _|"Yes, need to rest."|_ and with that, Ezra fell asleep on his grassy bed.

Kanan sighed, picked Ezra up and carried him back to the Ghost. Upon arrival he did receive some odd looks from the crew and questions about what had happened to Ezra. Kanan just explained away Ezra's condition by him pushing himself too far in his studies and that he would be fine after some rest. Depositing the boy in his bunk he left Ezra to his rest, dropping in every once in a while to check on Ezra's condition.

Time passed and Ezra stirred from his slumber during one of Kanan's visits. Registering Kanan's presence, Ezra swivelled and sat up stretching.

"How long was I out?" Ezra asked.

"Just a few hours." Kanan replied.

"Really!?" Ezra said surprised. "I thought it would be more."

Kanan smirked "I take it that the Gurren Lagann loop was its usual exhausting self."

Ezra shook his head. "Worse. I will never think of a normal Gurren Lagann loop as tiring again."

Kanan was a bit confused, what could be more exhausting than the usual ride. "I take it that it wasn't a normal loop then. So what happened?"

Ezra stretched, despite being short it had been a restful sleep. "You know how hectic the Gurren Lagann loop is normally?"

Kanan nodded.

"When I first Woke I thought that I was in a null loop replacing Leon. None of my Pings got any reply so I was on my own."

"Well that is quite bad, but you have been through the loop before you know how it goes."

"Yes, but like I said while I originally thought that I was in null loop it turned out I was in a null Varient that was definitely more chaotic than usual. The first change was when we met up with the Black Siblings and they had two extra members in their family. Marcus and Kristy."

"Well just because there are additions shouldn't have made too much of a difference."

Ezra snorted "It makes a difference when one of them seems to be a version of Marcus Damon."

"Who?"

"Marcus Damon, you know one of the Digimon anchors. I'm sure you're met him once."

"Wait..." Kanan felt something trickle in his memories. "Wasn't he the guy to take down the equivalent of a god in his baseline? With his fists!?"

Ezra nodded. "That's the one. He's one of the few loopers I've heard of that took the Gurren Lagann loop in stride first time. I can now confirm that his baseline self can also do so."

"I see..." Kanan said slowly. "Well I can understand why that would make it a more hectic loop than norm–"

"That wasn't the only change." Ezra interjected. "If that wasn't enough when we formed Team Gurren, there were even more extras. Specifically a Gai and his student Lee."

Kanan considered those names before paling. "You don't mean?"

"I do." Ezra nodded.

Kanan instinctually blocked memories of green spandex. He gulped. "Ah that might be a serious change."

Ezra huffed. "What was worst was that Simon and Kamina started competing with them." He looked up at Kanan. "You know how those two can act in the baseline, now imagine if they had even more enthusiasm."

Kanan considered that scenario and shuddered.

Ezra continued. "Everyone was dragged along for the ride. I swear after a certain point Marcus ditched his Gunmen and was fighting with his bare hands."

Ezra fell back on his bunk. He laid on his back staring at the base of the upper bunk.

"It was both incredibly exhausting and also a ton of fun." He laughed at the memories. "The Anti-Spirals were caught totally off guard. When it came to the final battle I have never seen the Anti-Spirals more off their game. I don't know what threw them off more. The streetfighter tearing through their forces with his bare hands or the duo yelling about Springtime of Youth with a backdrop of crashing waves and sunsets appearing out of nowhere."

* * *

"You have to make a connection–"

Ezra was caught by surprise when he was hit in the face by a snowball thrown by Kanan.

"What was that about!?"

"Not Awake yet." Kanan muttered under his breath. Out loud he then said. "Just testing your reflexes and reactions."

The Awake Kanan recalled catching a faceful of snow at Ezra's hands at this particular point when Waking up and he was determined to catch him the same way.

The unAwakeEzra wasn't convinced by the explanation but he had an even greater question on his mind. Ezra waved his hand around to encompass the sun swept grassy plain they were standing on.

"Where did you even get a snowball from anyway?"

* * *

 **30.3     [Relics of the Old Republic]** (numair2304)

"So there they were. Three brave souls facing down the Imperial forces. Former Captain Rex accompanied by Commander Wolffe and commando Gregor. Each of them a veteran clone soldier from the Clone Wars. All they had in their corner was their lone AT-TE walker, like them an aged survivor from the battles. An AT-TE that had been their home and livelihood, working constantly after retirement and due to the passage of time certain pieces were held together with tape and tlc.

Arrayed against this humble yet experienced force the remnants of the original attack force sent by the Imperials. Originally, a trio of AT-ATs walkers, their adversities numbers had shrunk by one due to a combination of a sandstorm's low visibility and our own Jedi teammates support.

The remaining pair of AT-ATs fresh off the production line cleared the sandstorm and planted their four legs in the ground as they looked upon their enemy. There was a moment's silence and then–"

["Why do they have four legs?"] Chopper asked, interrupting Zeb.

Zeb blinked, his storytelling momentum thrown off. "What?"

["Why do the AT-AT walkers only have four legs, I mean the old AT-TE walkers have six. Seems a more stable design."]

Zeb eyed Chopper but could only sense honest curiosity from the droid. After considering the question he answered.

"You're not wrong there. You could also ask why the AT-ATs are twice the height of the AT-TEs? The way I see it, the AT-AT was designed that way more for psychological reasons than tactical. A heavily armoured tank that looms over the enemy to make them feel small, insignificant." Zeb snorted. "Of course relying on fear predominantly to win a fight is not the best tactic. That kind of tactic fails against certain people, individuals who can keep their calm and continue to plan. The use of pits, tying the legs together or focusing on disabling one of the legs usually ends with the thing falling over. You have to survive the anti-personnel fire in the process though."

["Oh."]

Zeb waited a moment to see if there was any other questions and returned to his narrative. "Back to the new expansion... where exactly was I?"

["The AT-ATs and AT-TE facing each other down."]

"Oh yeah. There was a moment's pause and then the relics of the Old Republic acted." Zeb chuckled, his tone edged with amused respect. "They didn't hesitate, they didn't consider flight or surrender. Instead you know what they did. They charged!

Their lone AT-TE advanced towards the enemy, howling defiance as it headed into its last fight. The Imperials reacted like normal by pouring all their forward firepower into the approaching walker. Coming under such a concentrated barrage the AT-TE faltered in its march and after a heavy hit fell to its feet. That could have been the end of the fight there and then but the soldiers didn't stop trying to move forward and their AT-TE responded roaring back to life. Black smoke pouring from its body, their walker punched through the enemy's blasts and rammed into the legs of the nearest AT-AT walker. Pushing, firing, throwing everything against the opponent.

At one point I thought that they would bring the thing down but it recovered its balance and prepared to counter attack. I do wonder what they thought at that moment. Rex, Gregor and Wolffe. I think part of them would have been happy with the result, to have gone down fighting holding off one walker in close combat while another fired at them from a distance, their last fight."

Zeb smiled.

"And then we joined the battle the Phantom blasting the first AT-AT as we passed before dropping me and the two blokes with the plasma blades atop the other AT-AT. Cutting through the roof we hijacked the vehicle and fired upon the AT-AT engaging the AT-TE, the firepower combined with the soldiers efforts finally knocking the AT-AT walker to the ground on its side. In the aftermath of that fight Rex agreed to come back with us and join the Resistance."

Zeb took a breath.

"And that's the new expansion!"

["Impressive."] Chopper commented.

"Yeah, seeing how those guys fight .brought back fond memories." Zeb said musingly. "Pity that Gregor and Wolffe stayed behind on Seelos, could have used more of that kind of fire."

* * *

 **30.4     [Preventing Impact]** (numair2304)

Within the city two titanic entities stood opposing each other. One, a verdant green, held itself confidently while the other was unsure and hesitant. The hesitant attempted to move forwards but unsure of its footing clumsily fell at its opponent's feet. Taking the advantage its opponent reached down and grasping the head lifted, resulting in the other's entire body dangling off the ground supported by that one arm. Its opponent didn't stop there. Both of its arms bulged and the free arm grabbed at the other's left arm and started to squeeze. Unable to muster itself to counter the assault the other's arm snapped with a crack, the pain of the injury shared with its pilot.

**PAIN!PAIN!PAIN!FEAR!FEAR!FEAR!HURTS!HURTS!**

_'I...'_

Showing no mercy the opponent continued the assault. A piston in the arm that grasped the head drew back and fired through their palm, hitting with sickening force.

**NOTMYPAIN!NOTMYFEAR!PROTECT!DESTROY!PAIN!FEAR!**

' _I don't want...'_

The blows continued, cracks forming under the impacts.

**DON'TBESCARED!MINE!PROTECT!!DON'TBESCARED!MINE!MUSTPROTECT!MUSTSAVE!**

' _I don't want to die!!_

A final blow punched through the armour, skewering through the cranium. The force behind the blow sending the figure flying backwards into a nearby tower block. The mental anguished scream of its pilot unheard by all but one.

**PROTECT!DESTROYENEMY!PROTECTCHILD!DESTROYANGEL!PROTECTSHINJI!**

The buried soul inside Evangelion Unit 01 flared into fury and its remaining eye lit up with a white blaze. Something had harmed its child and it would pay. The existing injuries, a broken arm and a hole through the head, were ignored as it started to rise, rage powering it.

_|"Li... ...n, can y... ...ar me?"|_

Unit 01's vision tunnelled in on the cause of the pain, the angel that stood out against the night sky. Upon sighting that visage everything else started to fade from its thoughts, the need to destroy its enemy overwhelming the other emotions. The enemy would pay.

_|"He... ...isten! You hav... ....o calm down!|_

Unit 01 screamed in anger. Nothing would stop it ripping the enemy apart, piece by piece. Its whole being focused on the opponent facing it, bending its knees in preparation to launch at the enemy Angel.

_|"Calm down! Y...!|_

Unit 01 hesitated. Whose voice was that? Why were they interfering?

_|"YUI!! Calm down!Your'e scaring Shinji!!"|_

_'Shinji?'_ Unit 01 recognised that name, it was important, it needed to be protected. The inhabiting soul studied the small being nestled inside it. Could feel the fast heartbeat, the stress wrenching at their form. Could remember that he used to be so small when she last held him. ' _Shinji, my child?'_ Could feel the fear and pain pouring off their body. _'My son is scared of me'_

The abrupt terror as that truth registered forced a clarity upon the soul residing inside Unit 01. For a brief moment Yui was fully in control of her mind, her memories, her emotions. The tunnel vision faded showing the battlefield to be anything but empty. A city at night, most likely teeming with people, future victims if the battle wasn't kept under control. Facing her the Angel Sachiel prepared to attack again.

Yui's mind drew its conclusions. The Angels were here, SEELE had their own plans in the works and her child had been thrown straight into the middle of it. The berserk rage rose again but she felt the outside influence help her control it, channel it. Yui breathed deep and made her decision. They would pay for what they had done starting with the Angel opposite her but not at the cost of innocents. Yui launched herself at the Angel, her mind, body and soul in complete unison, the outside voice whispering support and advice.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yui breathed heavily as Sachiel lay bleeding at her feet, the Angel's core shattered with her Progressive knife. The fight had been brutal but had ended in Yui's victory. She quickly glanced around her. The surrounding buildings were virtually untouched from the fight though there had been one bad point when Sachiel upset with how the fight was going fired a blast point blank at her. A blast that would have hit not only her but most likely quite a few blocks behind her. The voice that had been her companion throughout the fight cursed and to her amazement Sachiel's body was shifted diverting the blast, its path altered just enough so that it missed her and overshot the surrounding buildings, a Crucifix lighting the sky of Tokyo 3. The Angel's surprise at this physical shift had given her a free shot at its core. 

Now that the battle was over and the current danger was gone Yui could feel the fog starting to cloud her mind, her soul once again. She was scared, she didn't want to leave, she wanted to stay with Shinji.

 _|"Yui, are you still there?"|_ The outside voice, sounding tired but happy, asked breaking through Yui's rising panic. She realised that there was someone who might be able to do what she couldn't.

 _'Yes but I'm fading, I'm going! I won't be able to protect him! Please I don't know who you are and I have no right to ask a favour of you but please.. please look after Shinji_!' She begged in her thoughts.

As she waited for a reply, for a reaction Yui was plagued by doubts. Doubts that the voice would refuse, that the voice might have its own plans.

 _|"Yui, I promise that will look after Shinji to the best of my abilities."|_ The voice replied sincerely.

Yui had to trust in that sincerity and in the hope that was kindled by those words. She turned her attention to her son. From what she could read Shinji was still stressed but calmer than he had been at the start. She wished that she could hug her son, wrap in her arms but that was an impossibility right now. Instead she focused on her happier memories, her love for the young child he had been and wrapped it around him.

Yui's conscious faded and Unit 01 was left standing there. A silent sentinel over a broken Angel.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra sighed as he laid on the floor. The fight had taken a lot out of him especially shifting that much mass at once so quickly. Part of him wanted to just rest but there were still some things he needed to check on before he could stop.

His attention focused briefly on one Toji Suzuhana as the boy dragged his sister away from the combat zone. Shinji had mentioned what Toji and his sister were put through each loop if changes weren't made and it wasn't a nice story. The mental nudge Ezra had given them earlier to flee would have gotten them away safely anyway but it was good that he'd managed to get through to Yui.

Focusing on Yui he confirmed that she had had fallen back into her fugue state. It was as if the bulk of Yui's personality was sealed off, leaving the more primal instincts free. She still knew subconsciously that she had to protect and fight even though she didn't quite exactly understand the why or how. Breaking her out of it in the first place had taken a real effort on his part, hopefully it would become easier as time passed.

Ezra peered deeper inside Unit 01. There was Shinji on the edge of conscious, his thoughts frayed and drifting but his emotions calm and settled. Studying the young man he found it strange to see the base self of one of the Original Seven. There were hardly any comparisons between the two. The sheer weight of their minds, the imprint that millions of loops had left on them. Ezra gently touched Shinji's mind sending him into sleep's clutches. Despite things playing out slightly better than the baseline Shinji had still had one rough time. Hopefully when he was retrieved, the NERV crews would let him continue to sleep.

Ezra withdrew from his immersion in the Force and studied the ceiling above him. Waking up just before the Angel started its assault on Unit 01 hadn't given him much time to do anything but react. Now that that was over he could start to plan for the rest of the loop.

He knew quite few details of this loop's baseline thanks to meeting Shinji once at Mac's bar. The Neo Genesis Evangelion Anchor had been kind enough to outline the plot of his loop to the interested people at the bar in case they looped through. Not only had Shinji outlined key points but he had also included suggestions and ideas on how to cope with certain scenarios. though glancing down at his body for this loop Ezra was pretty sure that this scenario hadn't come up before. It would probably be best to hide under the radar to begin with and make changes slowly.

The main challenges ahead would be defeating each Angel when they arrived and overturning SEELE and Gendo's schemes. Thinking of a way to derail those schemes Ezra considered that working alongside Loki would be the best strategy. The biggest physical problem would be defeating the Angels without too much collateral damage. He couldn't just rely on Yui to help out every time.

 _'It's not fair to put all the burden on her, but I don't know if I can reach the other souls in the Units. I want to help but I don't think that I have anything heavy enough in my Pocket. I don't have the necessary... muscle....'_ Ezra considering that thought, recalled something interesting about the upcoming events after the Fifth Angel. ' _It could work, it would have to improved upon but it could work.'_ Ezra smirked. ' _Well there goes the idea of making changes subtlety. Though at best Gendo and SEELE will know that there is a third party involved, they won't have any real idea who that party is or what their goal is.'_

He put that plan to one side to discuss with Loki later and focused on the other half of the equation, the people thrown into the deep end. Thinking about how many people had psychological problems in this loop made Ezra realize something.

_'Oh Gods, this is going to take a lot of therapy work. Fighting the Angels might be the easy part of this loop.'_

The three to start with would be the pilots. All of them suffered from loneliness.

Asuka wanted to be seen as an mature adult and tries to appear totally independent in order to distance herself from the sadness caused by her mother’s death, swearing that she would never cry again.

Rei had been brought up stifled from the world. She never had been allowed to develop her social interactions and was at the moment easily confused by emotions and detached from her own

Shinji had a inferiority complex, possessed self hatred and had limited social skills. Despite his father abandoning him as a child he still wanted a sign of affection from the man, a man who was even now obsessed with his dead wife and saw everyone else as tools for his goal Shinji included.

Next on the list would probably be Shinji's and Asuka's future guardian Misato. Though Misato may not that bad of a problem. Yes she had overwhelming hatred towards the Angels but she did have her own methods of letting of pressure rather than just stewing in the anger. Misato liked to live life to the extreme. When she worked she put all her effort into it and when she relaxed she put all her effort into it.

Thinking of Misato Ezra realised that for the sake of Shinji's and later Asuka's health he needed to come up with a plan to prevent Misato cooking for them.

 _'Although,'_ Ezra thought whimsically, ' _if I can get an Angel to ingest one of her meals it might upright self destruct and save us a battle.'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Loki kept a digital eye on his surroundings as he searched for more information. The MAGI were the supercomputers of this world. If he was still his first incarnation he would have stood no chance against them but he had evolved a long way since then. Still it was best to be careful, he wanted to gather the information silently before they realised that something like him existed. There were hardly any external feeds leading to any of the MAGIs and he didn't want some paranoid individual cutting the feeds. And there was his target, Loki struck.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

To all outward examination Gendo was calm and composed, underneath however he was irate. Someone was messing with his scenario. The Jet Alone project had been sabotaged like planned, sent on a path to Tokyo 3 with its reactor set to melt down. All necessary steps to discredit its creators and cease their funding. The plan had been successfully working up until the Third Child confronted the robot where upon the plan derailed in a major way. Ritsuko had lost control of Jet Alone and the thing had turned and ran away. Gendo's hand twitched. Whoever had seized control had made the thing wave at Unit-01 before it fled. The EVA pursed but was unable to travel far due to the limits of the power cable. At this point in time no one had a clue where the Jet Alone had disappeared to. His resources in the military had revealed only mixed confusion and angry questions. The way SEELE was also demanding answers suggested that Keel and his Council had no idea as well. Some third party was involved.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 _'What the hell was going on!?_ '

Gendo could feel things starting to slip from his control. The 7th Angel, Israfel, had turned up on the schedule set by Dead Sea Scrolls and Unit-01 and Unit-02 had been sent out to battle. Defying orders the Second Child had assaulted the Angel alone cleaving it in two. The two pieces had formed into smaller twins of the Angel preparing to attack the Units and that was when things changed.

The Jet Alone project appeared from nowhere and rammed one of the copies knocking it to the ground. While the Second Child seemed unsure how to react to the newcomer Unit-01 had straight away coordinated with Jet Alone. The battle that followed had been short and brutal, the Jet Alone and Unit-01 synchronizing their attacks against their respective opponents culminating in the Angel's separate cores shattering at the same time. The Jet Alone had then left the battlefield and had disappeared again.

Even though the Angel had been successfully defeated there was an air of confusion about NERV. Questions were being asked of how the Jet Alone had so much success against an Angel. Footage analysed by the MAGI confirmed that modifications had been made to the Jet Alone but couldn't state how those changes actually worked.

What was really worrying Gendo was how Unit-01 worked alongside the new player without any apparent hesitation. The Third Child had been questioned afterwards and denied being the one responsible, claiming that the Eva had moved by itself. Judging from the readouts Gendo had no choice but to believe that story, the boy's synch rates were low enough to be nonexistent at the time of the fight.

Gendo could feel things slipping from his control.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Gendo was definitely losing control of his scenario. It was a slight comfort that SEELE was also baffled by the third party involved. The 8th, 9th and 10th Angel had been defeated with the Jet Alone turning up each time to aid the deployed Units in the fight. The Jet Alone never hung around after the fight finished and they were unable track it when it departed the scene. The third party controlling it had still not been revealed. The resources necessary to maintain such a device should leave a trail but despite the MAGI tracking shipments so far the searches had met with no success.

Without an acceptable reason Gendo couldn't declare an attack on the robot as such orders would most likely be met with disbelief and refusal. This was especially likely after the events of the 8th Angel, Sandaphon, where the Jet Alone had helped prevent a loss of one of the Evas inside an active volcano.

In the privacy of his office Gendo kneaded his forehead.

Another of the confusing things was how the pilots were reacting to one another. All three pilots were working well together as a single unit, their teamwork was exceptional and that was the strange thing. Rei would blindly follow orders to work as a team but according to their psychological profiles the Second and Third Child shouldn't be able to work together. The Third should be too timid and the Second too aggressive. Those profiles appeared to be flawed now as both of them had managed to improve their social skills. In fact the few times Gendo had paid any attention to the Third Child, no he corrected himself, Shinji the boy had acted with more confidence. If Gendo didn't know any better he would say that they had been getting therapy but that was impossible. The only interactions they had outside of NERV were Captain Katsuragi and a few children at the school.

Gendo pushed his worries away. It didn't matter in the long term. Dr. Akagi claimed that she was making progress on the Dummy Plug system, that would let him get some control back over the scenario.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Shinji stared at the 13th Angel, Bardiel, the Angel that infected another Eva. Their silent ally Jet Alone held the struggling Unit 03 in a full nelson hold.

"Is the pilot still in there? Is Toji in there?" Shinji demanded of his father. Only silence returned. "Answer me!"

"The EVA and its pilot are lost. Any rescue attempt is futile and an unnecessary risk. The Angel is to be destroyed!"

Those words caused the last part of familiar respect Shinji had for his father to disappear.

 _|"_ _Can I say that your husband is a jerk."|_ Ezra remarked silently in an aside.

 _'I wish I could disagree with you.'_ Yui replied sadly just as silently.

"So I should just kill Toji just because you don't think it's worth the risk to save him." Shinji snarled.

Shinji wasn't going to let his friend die just on Gendo's word and to his eyes the Jet Alone seemed to have the same idea. All of the robot's efforts were to seal the Angel's movements rather than to destroy it, however with how much the Angel was struggling the Jet Alone was fully occupied with sustaining its hold.

"Third Child!" The Commander's voice gained only a bit, but noticeable anger. "You are ordered to destroy the Angel!"

"Not without saving Toji first!" Shinji wielded his Eva forward as fast as he could, ignoring orders to stop.

 _|"You've got a good son."|_ Ezra pointed out.

 _'I know.'_ Yui agreed with pride.

Watching Unit-01 advancing on the giant screen like everyone else in the Central Dogma Gendo cursed as the Third refused to follow his orders. He shifted his attention to the technicians below.

"Sever the connections between Unit-01 and its pilot!" He commanded. "Activate the Dummy Plug!"

"Sir," one of the technicians spoke up, "the Dummy Plug hasn't been tested yet and..."

"Anything is better than a pilot who doesn't follow orders!" Ikari cut them off.

"But, Sir!" The technician protested. "The Angel is contained and might it be better..."

"That doesn't matter! Obey my order!" Gendo commanded.

"Yes, sir..." Resentment clear in the technician's voice as they keyed in the appropriate commands.

"Ikari..." the Sub-Commander warned to no avail.

Gendo ignored him as he ignored the stares the rest of the room were giving him. This was his chance to seize some control back over his scenario. The Dummy Plug would give him total control over Unit-01, he would not require the Third Child anymore.

_|"Here it comes! Are you ready?"|_

_'Yes.'_

For a moment Shinji found himself alone as his displays died and the entry plug was plunged into darkness. Then everything restarted and the Eva started moving again but without him in control. Shinji started to panic as Unit 01 started to reach for the Angel.

_|"It's ok. We'll save him, just watch."|_

A gentle touch brushed his minds leaving those words. Shinji calmed as he observed that Unit 01's movements were slow and steady, carefully reaching for the Entry Plug on Unit 03, the Jet Alone shifting itself to give Unit 01 a better angle.

Gendo watched as the technicians prepared to activate the Dummy Plug but then realised that Unit-01 was still moving.

"I thought I told you to sever the pilot's connections!" Gendo accused, drawing the technicians' attention to the screens.

Dropped jaws were a majority.

"We have sir! The Unit's moving on its own."

"Activate the Dummy Plug!" Gendo demanded.

Keying in the commands all that displayed were error messages.

"We've tried! It keeps rejecting the connection!"

Gendo with no control at all over the situation could only remain staring silently as Unit-01 rescued the pilot of Unit-03. The worry that had been niggling at the back of his thoughts ever since the Unit-01 had moved on its own against Israfel resurfacing with a vengeance.

_'Could it be...Yui.'_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Gendo stared in disbelief. Things had moved beyond his original perceptions. The Dummy Plug system had failed in its first field test. The Jet Alone was still out there, operated by an unknown party beyond his control. The Second and Third Child appeared to be in a relationship of all things. Shinji had stood up to him.

But this... this had no place in his plans.

Gendo kept staring as in the distance the First Child giggled, Rei actually giggled at a remark from the Second Child. The First wasn't supposed to have emotions, wasn't supposed to have friends. She was the tool he required to seize control over Third Impact.

Gendo's mind raced trying to create a solution.

The original plan would have had Rei replaced by one of her 'substitutes' straight away but that was an impossibility right now. During the attack on the MAGI by the 11th Angel, Iruel, the lab containing Rei's replacements was attacked. The systems were broken, data erased. There was no way to replace Rei. Dr. Akagi claimed that it must have been the Angel's work while it was interfaced with their systems. The only way it could have been an act of outside sabotage would be for someone to bypass all three MAGIs security protocols and of the four people with physical access all of them could be placed in different areas.

With the loss of the copies the Dummy Plug System was a lost cause for now.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra sighed sadly. His most recent challenge was the most displeasing success he had accomplished for a while. He'd managed to sneak into NERV during the Angel's assault, everyone was too busy to notice him, and had entered the core of the Dummy Plug system. After reprogramming the computers to erase all the data, he'd sent the Rei clones off to their peace. He'd made sure to watch, to not turn away as they dissolved into the LCL they were stored in. They were so close to be being alive and yet not, empty vessels without a soul. No emotions, no thoughts just existence.

Apart from that depressing part his plans had been going well this loop.

The people he'd wanted to help were improving bit by bit. In the end he'd decided to enter their mindscapes while they were sleeping to help them deal with their fears and problems. As they worked through their issues it had caused something of a cascade as the improvements in each individual would help the people around them.

Whenever Unit 01 took the field he'd managed to talk to Yui, the other Units not so much. The souls inhabiting their forms were buried too deep, he was unable to reach them.

Having Loki along was a great boon. Loki was following the paper trails and gathering proof about SEELE's members and their true goals. The protections around them were strong but they relied way too much on the security of their MAGI. When Loki wasn't scouting the information highways he was having fun fighting with or upgrading Jet Alone or Slepnir as LOKI had decided to call the robot. Ezra would see if he could make space for it in his Pocket before the loop ended.

Ezra considered the future timeline. With Bardiel's defeat and the rescue of Toji, that meant only four angels left until the showdown with SEELE and Gendo. The next Angel, Zeruel, could be considered as pure muscle but Ezra wasn't worried about that, Yui was closer to the surface every time he talked and with Slepnir to help her out the Angel would meet some strong opposition. No the problem would be the last three Angels. Ezra's expression became stern, the last three needed to be taken seriously. Mind, body and soul; each Angel would attack these aspects in the last battles.

He had debated with Loki for a long time exactly how to combat these avenues of attack. In the end they had decided that Ezra should counter the mind's first attack allowing Loki to finish it off and that Loki should confront the body before anyone else got in its range.

When it came to the soul however Ezra and Loki was still divided on what to do. Loki with his logic saw the answer as simple, Ezra wasn't so convinced. In the baseline unlike the rest of his brethren Tabris had questioned whether humanity should be the existence to disappear and in the end had gone to his death peacefully, happy that Shinji would survive.

Ezra rose to his feet and pushed his next dilemma to the side for now.

 _'I need a drink.'_ He thought and waddled off in search of a beer.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The 15th Angel, Arael, floating in orbit launched a psychic attack upon the mind enclosed in Unit 02 on the ground below it. Asuka screamed as she felt something tear into her mind.

_|"Oh no you don't!"|_

Arael metaphorically blinked as it felt its attack blocked. In her Unit Asuka breathed deeply, the splitting headache fading away as quickly as it had arrived.

_|"Let's see how you like it!"|_

Arael felt the words but did not comprehend their meaning. Then the pain hit and Arael screamed. Burning pain that didn't stop and when it felt like it couldn't get any worse the pain would enflame again. Arael was so distracted that it never saw the finishing blow approach.

Slepnir withdrew its fist from the disintegrating Angel's core.

{"That's one down, two to go"} Loki remarked to himself before re-entering the atmosphere.

Buried deep inside of NERV Gendo snarled. With the quick defeat of the Angel by the outside party he had been unable to shift plans in his interest by 'losing' the Longinus Lance. It was also becoming more apparent that whoever was interfering had access to resources beyond what SEELE had, the Jet Alone was now apparently capable of flight including up to extra orbital manoeuvres. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The ring shaped 16th Angel, Armisael, appeared on the outskirts of Tokyo 3 and found Slepnir waiting for it. The ring split into a thread and stabbed at Slepnir, the thread end slamming into Slepnir but finding itself unable to pierce the robot's armour. Slepnir grabbed the thread with its hands.

{"Sorry, not organic. No Eva core, no fusion for you."} Loki explained.

Realising its mistake the Angel tried to escape from Slepnir's grip but to no avail. Slepnir just tightened its grip.

{"No one will die to you today."} Loki stated before proceeding to make that statement the truth.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra massaged his head.

_|"I can't believe that worked."|_

{"Shinji suggested it as one strategy. Did you not believe him?"}

_|"I thought he meant it as a joke. Part of me still does. Even after it succeeded."|_

Ezra stared at the currently comatose 17th Angel, Tabris aka the Fifth Child Kaworu Nagisa. Ezra had managed to intercept Kaworu before his arrival at NERV and had invited him to chat for a while. Kaworu intrigued by the invite and inviter had agreed. The meeting had lasted a long time and had concluded with the Angel snoring away with a smile on his face as he hugged a bottle.

_|"I mean how to defeat your opponent doesn't usually have the caption 'Get Them Drunk!'. I still can't believe that worked. Isn't he supposed to a variant of humanity? A different choice? Why did alcohol affect him the same?"|_

{"He's still organic"} Loki pointed out, seeing that as the answer. {"Are you going to follow the next suggestion?"}

_|"What? Dump him in a strip joint? No. For now just let him sleep. When he wakes we'll just keep the booze flowing and see how he handles a nightclub."|_

Ezra left Tabris to his slumber.

_|"Should be interesting to see how SEELE reacts to his disappearance."|_

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

SEELE were unhappy, Tabris had disappeared and no one had any answers to what had happened to him. It appeared that their moment had arrived, Third Impact was imminent. It was time to send the troops in.

The JSDF soldiers breached NERV's underground garage, their formation uninterrupted until they noticed the figure waiting for them. Ezra smiled at the confusion on their faces and flexed a limb to encourage them to bring it on. Despite the confusion they were still organised and at a barked command one aimed and fired. Reaching out through the Force Ezra altered the bullet's path with a slight push making it miss and ignited his lightsaber. Another moment of confusion, another barked command and the battle started in earnest.

Ezra twisted to avoid a particularly thick stream of bullets and charged at another group. Behind him a good dozen soldiers were unconscious,  victims of the ensuing battle. Good men given bad information, believing that they were preventing Third Impact. They wouldn't die at his hands. In the background Ezra could hear the radio messages flowing back and forth about how there was only one hostile and about trying to find another point of access. Ezra snorted at that. Loki had downloaded himself into a spare Chopper unit the previous night and had spent the time sealing the other access points, the soldiers would need cutting torches and explosives to make any headway, headway that would be stopped by the tunnel collapses Loki had engineered.

As he rendered another soldier unconscious Ezra wished he could see the looks on the Command when the soldiers described their attacker.

The JDSF were all professionals, veterans of conflict but they had never encountered something like this before. The thought that passed through one soldiers head before he faded into the black was 'what maniac created this monster?'.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The SEELE council was spitting fire. The soldiers that had sneaked in ahead of the main force had been unable to make any progress at seizing control of NERV. If the reports they were receiving were to be believed they had been stopped at the entrance to the garage. The bulk of the main force was unable to advance and support them due to the actions of the three Eva Units and one robot Jet Alone on the field of battle. This chain of events was inexcusable. Time to reveal their trump card.

Above the battlefield nine transport aircraft dropped their loads, a Mass Produced Evangelion. Each controlled by a Dummy Plug and containing their own S2 Engine. The moment the Eva Series touched the ground what little control SEELE still had flew away into the night.

Alarms blared.

"What is happening?"

"We're being hacked!"

Ripping through SEELE's systems Loki grabbed control of the Dummy Plug system and shut down all access bar his own. SEELE found that their command codes and frantic overrides slammed into dead ends as the paths were sealed. Keel's self-control was gone as he screamed at his technicians to require control of the MPE's

With that accomplished Loki released his next surprise, a data packet spread throughout the net describing in full details SEELE's history, everything about Second Impact, SEELE's direct involvement in it, their motives and what they intended in order to trigger a third. The world knew the truth about SEELE now. Keel shuddered as he felt a planet's worth of justifiable hatred focus towards him and his group.

For LOKI's last trick he took direct control of the entire MP Eva Series. Taking control of multiple bodies wasn't the easiest thing to do but he was just able to cope. Turning to face Unit-02 every one of the Eva Series fell to one knee in supplication. Slepnir joined them in falling to one knee.

"We serve the Red Demon." Loki broadcast out loud and on all frequencies. "What is your command oh Mistress!"

Loki listened in amusement to Asuka's spluttering in disbelief to the broadcast followed by Shinji and Rei's barely suppressed laughter, a blend of hysteria, relief and amusement.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In NERV Centrals Terminal Dogma, Gendo stared in disbelief at the figure. Rei had not appeared in the lab the place of her birth. In desperation he had journeyed to where Lilth was stored in the hope that she was waiting there but no she was not there. Instead another figure waited his arrival holding a sign.

'Sorry no Impact today

for you and by the way

your wife is very

disappointed in you.'

Gendo starred with disbelief. This was the mastermind who had been messing with his plans the entire time! He blinked and tried casually to glance behind the diminutive figure hoping to see someone hiding behind it. His movements were noticed.

"Wark, wark, wark." Ezra laughed, the expression on Gendo's face was perfect. He was glad that he had set the cameras up earlier to record everything.

Gendo felt something in his mind break. All of the plans, all of the schemes, his and SEELE's. All of them ruined by a penguin.

Dropping the sign Ezra raised a wing and indicated to bring it on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30.1: Kanan getting used to his new cryokinesis.
> 
> I just want to say thank you again to Cassturn93 for having the great idea of Kanan acquiring Elsa's powers. 
> 
> 30.2: Making a Connection cont(10.5, 11.1, 11.9, 14.6, 18.1, 22.1 25.2)
> 
> Talking in Hexidecimals, Klingon and Russian. 
> 
> Top Cat and a Tribble.
> 
> 30.3: The latest expansion to the loop. The scene where the former clone troopers attacked the walkers was to me the best part of that episode.
> 
> 30.4: Just a random idea I had if someone ended up in the NGE Verse but replacing one of the more unique characters. In this case Ezra replacing Pen Pen in Neo Genesis Evangelion.
> 
> I would love if someone could write about the Penguins of Madagscar replacing Pen Pen.


	31. TCAoaTTP 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Always Two There Are , Make a Connection, Walk into a Room, Get Jinxed, Yoyo solo looper - Internecivus raptus, Jedi Temple Riddle, Clones and Joopas, Rise of the Spectres, Changes Maketh the Moment

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**31.1     [Always Two There Are]** (numair2304)

Ezra relaxed as the expected end didn't come and the loop continued past its previous endpoint. The loop had expanded again and he would have firsthand knowledge of what the future would bring.

There were unanswered questions about certain events that took place in the previous expansion. Despite being cornered on a planet by the Empire, the StarDestroyer in orbit instead of lending support to the ground forces actually left the system giving them a window of escape. Something that shouldn't have happened according to Chopper's previous interception of Kallus's transmissions demanding where his air support was.

The fact that the Empire had created an opening to escape despite the rebels being cornered was worrying. So far Yoyo hadn't looped through so no new information from him about the Empire's movements and there really wasn't enough time for LOKI to find anything out before the loop ended. The most recent attempt of fact finding had resulted in them finding out was that Vader himself had ordered the ship to rendezvous at a set of coordinates.

They had managed to escape the Empire again with a new ally and good starting position on establishing a secure base. The last time things seemed to be going well Vader turned up, there was a good chance the baseline was building up to a new problem.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"So instead of just one Sith on our trail, we have to deal with a set of Sith juniors chasing us as well. Where are they even coming from?" Kanan asked as he leant back on the sofa, Ezra having filled him in on his previous loop.

Seating himself beside Kanan, Ezra made himself comfortable before answering.

"I don't know, I don't even know if that's all of them. One of them said that the loss of the Grand Inquisitor had created new opportunities for the others. That could mean that there are even more out there."

"I thought the whole idea behind the Sith at the moment was the Rule of Two. You know one Master, one Apprentice; the Apprentice eventually surpassing the Master and taking his place to make the next Master stronger than the previous. Even if there aren't any more hiding in the woodwork not including the Grand Inquisitor there are more than two. Including the Grand Inquisitor, Sidious, Vader and these two new Inquisitors; no matter how you add it up that makes five not two."

"Except that Sidious replaced that rule with his own self-affirmed Rule of One." Ezra explained. "Sidious's self-conceit declares that he has no equal, that he is the only true Sith. His rule enforced by Dark Side agents given enough training to make them dangerous but nowhere near enough for them to be a threat to his position. His belief is that he will live forever as Emperor of the galaxy as its sole reigning Dark Lord."

Kanan couldn't help snorting at that logic. Ezra agreed.

"I know right! Some eternal emperor, his reign at best only lasted around two decades. The man was," Ezra paused before correcting himself, "is delusional, very dangerous but definitely delusional, becoming Emperor seems to have ruined any cunning or subtlety he previously possessed.."

"Ok that's enough about our beloved Emperor," Kanan said, his tone heavy on the sarcasm, before shifting the topic back to the new expansion. "So these Sith juniors, what would you classify their threat level as?"

Reflecting on the past encounter Ezra described the events in detail. When he finished he gave his own opinion.

"Their combat skills weren't on the same level as the prime example though his title of Grand Inquisitor suggests that he was either their boss or the strongest of their group. Use a similar fighting style though, not that surprising since they wield the same lightsaber design, the return of the spin attack. I would say they suffer from arrogance or overconfidence. Yes they managed to capture Sabine and me at baseline levels but they didn't bother securing us, something that made a subsequent escape very easy. I mean they handcuffed me but that's all they were, normal handcuffs, no Force suppressors, my hands were at my front so I could still use them; with Sabine they didn't even bother binding her."

"So no real threat to us Awake then." Kanan commented.

"Not unless they get a lucky shot." Ezra replied. "Their main goal wasn't our capture, they were hunting for Ahsoka."

"You think Vader recognised her?"

"No idea. He trained with her so it's possible he recognised her presence. She might have her own suspicions about him."

"Should we tell her?"

"What that her former Jedi master became the Emperor's right hand. The friend she called Sky Guy was involved in the slaughter of the Temple's younglings. It's not an easy thing to bring up in conversation."

The only thing Kanan could think to say in reply was, "True."

* * *

**31.2     [Make a Connection]** (numair2304)

"You have to make a connection–"

Kanan stopped talking, realising that Ezra wasn't paying attention to him. Instead the unAwake boy was just staring past him, his eyes wide. Kanan sighed, it was becoming predictable that something would occur during this lesson. He turned to face whatever was going to interrupt his lesson this time.

Off in the distance a blue swirling portal with a white border hovered a few feet above the grass.

"YAAYYY!!"

A exuberant whoop came from the portal followed closely by a young girl leaping through dragging a young boy behind her. Both landed on their feet and the girl threw up her arms in victory.

"WELCOME TO QUEST BUY!!"

The girl appeared to notice her surroundings and frowned, looking around in confusion.

"Wait a minute, this isn't QuestBuy. I was sure that it was the third on the left, maybe it was the third on the right?" She shook her head. "No that can't be right. Maybe the inverse of the coefficient? Yeah right, when has that ever worked."

As the girl rambled on Kanan took a sideways glance at Ezra. Noting the slack jawed jape on Ezra's face Kanan gave a slight smile. Yep Ezra had gone bye bye for the moment, his unAwake mind unable to cope with the normal insanity of a loop right now.

Turning back to the newcomers Kanan considered their entrance, judging from the fading portal it appeared that this was a fused loop. That opened up the question of whether there were any loopers in the world that their loop was fused with; to test that Kanan fired off a Ping and received no reply. At this point the girl seemed to be panicking a little and the boy was calming her down, neither appeared to have noticed their silent audience or displayed any reaction to the Ping. Based on the test it seemed that they weren't Awake.

Studying their appearance (Pale skin, blonde hair and a green dress for the girl, tan skin, brown hair and a red hoodie for the boy) Kanan had to admit that he didn't recognize them, no idea of what world they were from. A pair of unknowns meeting another pair of unknowns then.

A quick check on Ezra confirmed that the boy was rejoining reality, time to introduce themselves. Kanan cleared his throat to get the boy and girl's attention.

While the girl kept muttering to herself the boy heard the noise and quickly realized that they weren't alone.

"Star, there's someone here." He said at a low volume, nudging the girl. She looked up and noticed the two standing nearby.

Kanan wasn't sure what he was expecting as the first interaction but the girl's reaction wasn't it. Her companion's reaction was more understandably, a slight caution and tenseness in his form as he met two strangers. The girl's was a bit more open. The moment she caught sight of him and Ezra, her face lit up in a smile. Were those hearts on her cheeks?

"Oh hi!" the girl exclaimed, waving cheerfully. "I don't suppose you know where QuestBuy is?"

Ignoring wondering what a Questbuy actually was, Kanan answered. "I'm afraid not, Miss..?" A question of her name implied.

The girl gasped, her hand going to her mouth.

"Oh where are my manners." She grabbed the boy beside her in a shoulder hug. "I'm Star Butterfly, this is my best friend Marco Diaz. Who might you be?"

"It is nice to meet you Star, Marco." Kanan said, nodding to each in turn. "I'm known as Kanan Jarrus and this here is my padawan Ezra Bridger."

"Padawan... that's a strange title." Star mused examining Ezra, the search for Questbuy apparently forgotten for the moment. "Does it mean anything important?"

"It means I'm sort of like his teacher." Kanan explained, not going into any real detail.

"What do you teach?" Star asked interested.

Marco interjected, looking worried. "Star, your wand!?"

Star looked at Marco for a second before seeming to realize something and raised her right hand. Kanan saw that she held what was probably the wand Marco referred to. The main body of the wand was a light purple with white wings on the side and the head of the wand had a blue circle with a star inside.

"Oh your right Marco! I'm sorry but we have to get going! It's very nice to meet you two but we have to find QuestBuy."

Ezra spoke up, his confusion by now replaced by curiosity. "What's the hurry?"

"I need to buy a new charger for my wand." Star turned the wand so its base was revealed, Kanan could see a slot. "I can't find my charger and my wand's running out of magical energy, if it goes skull..." Star turned the wand again, indicating a fluctuating power bar on the side of the wand. Kanan focused, yes there was a skull on one end. "It will be dead forever!" As she proclaimed that sentence, the hearts on Star's cheeks morphed into stars before shattering, leaving behind weeping skulls. The girl wasn't far behind gazing at the wand with wet eyes.

The melancholy air that had formed was broken by Ezra's snort of disbelief. "Magic isn't real."

Star showed no reaction to those words, too busy gazing at the fading wand. Marco on the other hand seemed prepared to lambaste Ezra.  Kanan intervened, moving slightly so that he was positioned between Ezra and Marco.

"Forgive my student, he has yet to learn that the world doesn't always work the way he believes it does." As he spoke Kanan held his hand palm up and a ice crystal took shape, floating an inch above his palm.

Marco and Star's attention were drawn to the feat of cryokinesis.

"Cool!" They exclaimed in unison.

Kanan could feel Ezra's shock beside him but he put it to one side while he considered Star's words. So it was a wand that required its own power supply like the Devices from Nanoha's world, just more reliant on it for everyday use apparently. Immersing himself in the Force he focused his attention on the newcomers, trying to get a read on them. The girl was a bundle of cheerful emotions with a subtle edge of worry. The boy, an interesting mix of confidence, worry and calm. Nothing implied that they were anything but good people. Trusting in the Force he came to a decision. It was a long shot but he might be able to help them out a bit. It was true that he didn't a charger or have any idea what this Questbuy was but using some of the tricks he'd picked up in the loops he might be able to give the wand's magical supply a boost.

"I have some knowledge of magic. Do you mind if I try something?" Kanan asked Star, ignoring the strange look Ezra was still giving him or in truth the floating ice crystal.

Star smiled at him and nodded her head, seemingly willing to trust a kindly stranger. Marco was a bit more hesitant and cautious.

"Ok but I'm watching you." Marco said with a touch of suspicion in his voice.

Dispersing the ice crystal Kanan moved his now free hand towards the wand and placed a finger on it's base. Mediating, he drew on his magical core and channeled his magic towards where the wand met his skin. At first nothing seemed to happen and then he felt a draw on his core as the magic was accepted by the wand.

"It's recharging! Marco, it's recharging!" Star said excitedly, her eyes wide fixed on the bar.

Kanan focused inwards, concentrating on maintaining a steady flow of magic. Through his focus Kanan caught the odd phrase from a conversation that Ezra and Marco struck up.

"...called Karate...fight mosters...nacos..."

"...slingshot...Jedi...stand up to...what are nacos?"

Reading the emotions around him Kanan was pleased to note that Ezra seemed to be over his shock and had moved on into excited interest.

A few minutes passed and Kanan broke the connection leaving his magical core down to its dregs, not empty but decidedly low. Looking closely at the wand to check on the progress he felt a bit of disbelief. Yes the bar had altered but only by a small faction. It was true that he didn't have the largest magical core, out of their home loop that was Hera, but still how much magic did that thing run on if all his power only recharged it that much.

"Aawww." Star groaned mildly disappointed.

"Look at this way Star. It gives you more time to locate a new charger." Marco suggested.

"You're right Marco!" Star gasped, seemingly bouncing back to high spirits. She bowed to Kanan. "Thank you for trying sir but it seems there is no other choice but to get a new charger. We'll be on our way then. It was nice to meet you new friends. Bye!!"

Star removed something from her pocket. Kanan observed that it appeared to be a pair of scissors. The blades cut a new portal in the air and waving goodbye Star dragged Marco through. Kanan and Ezra could hear Star talking through the still open portal.

"Welcome to Quest Buy! For real this time Marco, now where are charge– LUDO!!?" Star's voice broke out in surprise.

"GET THAT WAND!!" A new voice yelling a command.

"Kanan we have to help!" Ezra cried, jumping through the portal.

Kanan sighed again but with a slight smile on his face as he followed his student. He didn't know what to expect on the other side of the portal but it wasn't likely to be boring. The sounds of fighting emerged from the portal before it closed leaving behind an empty plain.

* * *

Kanan and Ezra stood upon the grassy plain staring at the loop's current replacement, a seemingly everyday black housecat..

"So it's not Luna?" Kanan asked.

"No crescent moon." Ezra said pointing to his own forehead.

"Carbonel, King of Cats?"

The cat yawned before starting to clean itself. They both stared a moment before Ezra spoke. "Doesn't appear to be."

"Salem." Kanan suggested.

"No sarcastic banter." Ezra explained.

"Yoruichi in disguise."

"Again no sarcastic banter and she would have transformed by now to get a reaction out of us." Ezra pointed out.

"Bagheera." Kanan proposed, starting to reach.

Ezra stared at the cat before focusing a look on Kanan. "Look I think I can tell the difference between a four foot panther and a common house cat."

"Bagpuss even?" Kanan asked, grasping at straws.

Ezra eyed Kanan in disbelief. "He's pink and white not black."

"I know that but I mean...it just doesn't make sense." Kanan stated in confusion

"Look," Ezra said kindly, "I'm not sensing any magic, chakra or reiatsu. Yes it's possible that there could be something I'm missing but the Force is insisting that it's just a normal cat."

They stared again at the small black cat that had replaced the subject of their usual lesson.

"What do think the odds are that just a normal black household cat turns up?" Kanan pondered. "You have to admit that's strange by the tradition of the loops."

* * *

**31.3     [Walk into a Room]** (numair2304)

Kanan walked into the room.

He looked at the room for a minute.

He turned around.

He left the room.

He returned a minute later dragging Ezra behind him. Letting go of Ezra's arm Kanan pointed into the room.

"Is this one of yours?" Kanan asked.

In the centre of the room on a raised plinth sat an ordinary wooden box labelled 'Do Not Open'.

"It's not mine." Ezra said studying the box.

"Then who's is it then? I would blame Chopper but he's been busy annoying the Imperials this loop, Zeb could have set it up but it doesn't feel like his kind of trick; and Hera and Sabine aren't even Awake this loop–"

Kanna broke off as he noticed Ezra edging towards the box.

"Ezra what are you doing?" Kanan asked wearily.

"I want to open it." Ezra stated as if it was simple logic.

"You want to open it." Kanan resisted facepalming as he shifted his attention between Ezra and the box with it's obvious warning label. "Why do you want to open it when it's obviously a trap?"

"That's the reason." Ezra explained as if it was obvious. "I know it's a trap but I want to know what kind of trap it is. The setup you know. Exploding paint, jack in the box, annoyed skunk, snakes–"

Kanan interrupted his listing. "What if it's just an empty box?"

Ezra paused for a moment as he considered.

"Then it's still a trap." Ezra said.

"How can it be identified as a trap if nothing happens when you trigger it?"

In the background Sabine and Hera watched as the two started arguing.

"See I told you that hiding we're Awake could be fun." Sabine whispered to Hera.

"Ok you were right." Hera agreed, still watching the boys. "I have to admit I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from them though."

Sabine held in a laugh as watched Ezra and Kanan continue to argue. They had moved on from just talking and were throwing in expressive hand movements to try and argue their point.

"You mean how they're completely ignoring the box now and are now arguing about what exactly constitutes a trap."

"Yeah," Hera said in bemused wonder, "it's like they're discussing Schrodinger's Cat but in pranking terms. Does the lack of any reaction to the main premise still confirm a prank?

Sabine gave Hera a sidelong glance for a moment before turning back to the main entertainment. "I think you may be mixing up your metaphors there but let's not start on that topic or we could end up like them."

"Looking at the theoretical a trap only exists within the precepts of surprise, remove that variable and it's no longer a trap." Ezra stated.

"So if you zap a trap the consequences no longer exist?" Kanan asked confused.

"No! A trap can only be countered by subsequent surprises."

* * *

**31.4     [Get Jinxed]** (numair2304)

As night fell upon Lothal at an Imperial complex a pair of Stormtroopers were on patrol. As their patrol took them pass a parked TIE fighter, they paused in their beat as a discordant note was introduced into the night air.

The male voice issuing information over the PA was cut off and replaced by a grinding sound, sort of like clockwork being wound up.

_"Blah blah blablah_  
Wanna join me?  
Come and play!"

"What the..." One of the Stormtroopers started to say as the grinding was replaced by music.

"Miss me, bucketheads?" A female voice called from behind them.

Turning the stormtroopers beheld one of the rebels standing there.

"Get her!" One of the stormtroopers yelled.

_"But I might shoot you,_  
In your face  
Bombs and bullets will,  
Do the trick  
What we need here,   
Is a little bit of panic!"

Bringing their blasters to bear they opened fired on the rebel. Ducking the first blast she ran and climbed up the nearby building

Running along the rooftop as they continued to fire, the rebel effortlessly avoided their fire.

"Yup, you definitely missed me."

Opening his comms, one of the stormtoopers made a report.

"We have an intruder on the north side, Sector 9. The artist is back. Sound the alarm."

_"Do you ever wanna catch me?_  
Right now I'm feeling ignored!  
So can you try a little harder?  
I'm really getting bored!"

For a moment the alarm klaxon drowned out the music before it blared even louder drowning out the alarm. The brief notice had been enough to garner the attention of the other patrols who joined in the shooting.

Despite an additional four stormtroopers adding to the fire, they still weren't come close to hitting the rebel.

Spinning, twirling the rebel was dodging their blasts with ease, jumping to the other structures with a light step.

"You boys have to do better than that." She called down at them as she pirouetted away from a twinned blast.

Suddenly the rebel was amongst them, leaping down from the latest rooftop and rolling forward as they hit the ground, keeping their momentum. Leaping into the air again, twisting to avoid the crossfire the rebel landed feet first upon one of the stormtroopers shoulders knocking them to the ground. Not stopping there the rebel, keeping low, leg swiped the nearest stormtrooper sending another down and kept moving until every stormtrooper was on the ground

_"Come on,_  
Shoot faster  
Just a little bit of energy!  
I wanna try something fun right now  
I guess some people call it anarchy!"

"Sorry but right now you're no match."

The downed stormtroopers could only stare as the rebel jumped to balance on a TIE fighters wing. Beyond the rebel an Imperial Transport hovered and the rebel waved goodbye as she leapt into its open hatch.

"Bye bye bucketheads."

This whole thing had been a distraction while the rest of the rebels stole an Imperial Transport.

Returning to their feet the stormtroopers prepared to open fire again but their attention was drawn by rapid beeping and a high pitched squeal. They observed the explosive devices attached to the parked TIE fighters.

"Not again." One stormtrooper sighed before yelling out. "Everyone evacuate!"

_"Let's blow this city to ashes_  
And see what Palpy thinks  
It's such pathetic neatness  
But not for long 'cause it'll   
Get jinxed!"

The music rose to crescendo and the explosives detonated.

* * *

**31.5     [Yoyo solo looper - Internecius raptus]** (numair2304)

Sat behind his desk Yoyo rubbed his brow as he read through the daily report. Another solo loop, another endless flow of paperwork. He sighed, leaning back in his chair for a moment before returning his attention to his work.

He knew what his problem was, he was bored and he didn't want to be. Admitting to boredom in the loops usually led to mayhem. At some point someone would wistfully ask for something to break the boredom and things would snowball from there.

He flinched as that thought crossed his mind and quickly returned to his work. No boredom here, plenty of work to occupy his time, no need for anything to break the monotony. Something in the daily reports caught his eye.

Interstellar shuttle crashed on approach. No survivors. Cause unknown.

Yoyo raised a brow. That was a uncommon occurrence. The shuttles had enough safety features built into them that the loss of passengers was unusual and that cause unknown was definitely new, between the pilot droid and the shuttle's flight recorder details should have been recorded.

He tapped a few buttons to bring up the full report on the crash and started reading.

Star Commuter Shuttle ST-121 had been on its final approach when it had suddenly veered off course. Repeated attempts to contact the RX-Series pilot droid had gone unanswered and the out of control shuttle had ended up crashing outside of the city limits. Search teams arrived at the location within twenty minutes and started going over the crash. Surprisingly despite the shuttle still being in one piece they discovered that the pilot droid and the sole passenger, a human, were deceased.

Further analysis of the crash site had brought up some worrying things.

The pilot droid was non-functional and all its data was irretrievable. Something had drilled several holes that had not only passed though the droid's processor but also the flight recorder and the hull of the ship beneath it. The techs were still trying to figure out what could have managed that. Locating the photos of the damage Yoyo studied them for details. Judging from the way the trauma to the metal something had burned or somehow melted a hole through the alloys. Turning away from that for a moment Yoyo brought up the autopsy report of the passenger.

According to the autopsy report the passenger's body had suffered multiple injuries from the crash but none had been the cause of the individual's death. Instead the victim, as the report described the passenger, was dead before the shuttle even started its initial descent.

The main cause of death was described as massive trauma to the central torso however the medical teams had confirmed that the damage originated in the thoracic cavity from an internal source not an external. Yoyo winced as he came across a picture, the hole in the victim's chest highlighted by the protruding ribs. One of the notes in the file said that it was like something forced its way out.

Yoyo paused at that, something about that statement rang a bell somewhere, he was sure he had heard it mentioned before. He tried to drag the memory forward but was unable to grab the wisps of thought. Frustrated he kept reading the report, hoping something would trigger his mental recall again.

There was a ding from the tablet as a new page was added to the report. The victim's blood work had been completed. Unknown enzymes had been found in the body whose purpose appeared to be to weaken the surrounding bone and tissue, most likely to aid whatever caused the initial damage. Another strange anomaly was that for some strange reason the victim's blood was now mildly acidic. Why would something want to turn the man's blood to acid...

Yoyo froze as several points hit him at once.

Chest burst open, acid for blood.

_'Oh frell!'_

If a member of the rank and file entered the room of one Agent Kallus a short time later they would be surprised to observe a pile of apparent clutter taking up the middle of the room instead of the usually neatly organised office. They would be even more surprised to see the officer in question pacing around the room reaching into empty air and withdrawing even more items, some of which after examination were returned to wherever they came from and the rest joined the growing pile on the floor.

Pulling out a set of armour Yoyo considered it for a moment before returning it to his Pocket with a grunt. Unless he was sure that it was seriously acid resistant any armour would just slow him down. In this kind of situation it would be better to focus on speed and reaction time rather than ironclad defence.

For once Yoyo wasn't worried about hiding his capabilities from the Imperial Eye, he thought that there was a bigger problem on the horizon. In truth he still hadn't confirmed his suspicions of what might of arrived on Lothal. The evidence in the report was flimsy and there was no solid proof just his belief. However he didn't believe he would be that lucky, if what he thought was right then forget being subtle he was going loaded for rancor.

As he kept rooting through his Pocket Yoyo remembered one of his previous loops when he'd met up with the crew for a social gathering that was part movie night, part education in other possible fusion loops. The creature portrayed in one of the films had had him jumping at shadows for a while after, it was one thing to watch it in a film, it was quite another to know that there was a chance you could run across it in real life thanks to the loops.

That possibility appeared to have taken root when he on his own. No other looper around, an apparent stealth anchor and an alien predator loose inside of Capital City. He needed to find the thing before people started disappearing.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yoyo cursed as he looked over the reports. It had been three months since the initial shuttle crash and things were gradually degrading. Lothal's Capital City was under martial law, no traffic in or out, and if things didn't improve soon Lothal as a whole might have to be locked down.

It had been enough bad at the start when trying to find the thing was like looking for a needle in a haystack, the problem grew when it became evident that the needle was multiplying. Yoyo didn't know if the original creature had been a Queen or if there had been eggs aboard the shuttle but there was definitely more than one of them now. He'd faced a number in single combat and so far emerged victorious, though he nearly lost a foot in one instance.

Clear instructions to the troops under his control had helped them take down their own number of hostiles and reduce their own losses. Five men in a patrol with another group of the same numbers close behind, if they spot something call it in and wait for backup; and no one was to break away on their own by the Mother of Kwarth! He'd had to tear into one fresh recruit who had decided to investigate a disturbance on his own and had been lucky to survive. That event had also been the cause of his near loss of a limb, what with being distracted trying to keep an eye on both the recruit and the attackers until reinforcements arrived. Yoyo winced in recall as his leg trembled slightly, he had stuck with a slight limp since that incident.

Talking about the attackers the citizens had come up with a name for that which hunted them, Internecivus raptus, Yoyo was told it meant murderous thief. Knowing how the reproduction method of this particular species he mentally agreed the term fitted.

It's theft of the victim's dna and life as part of its lifecycle matched. The Facehugger stage would force itself upon its victims in order to implant the next stage of its lifecycle in the chosen host. The next stage the Chestburster started out similar to a cancerous growth, a tumor that constructs the infant creature out the host's biological material allowing the absorption of some physical traits. Once developed enough the Chestburster would usually live up to its name and violently rip its way out of its host's chest. Releasing the infant into the world to mature quickly in size into a Drone to add to the hive's numbers. If they could get the victim into Medical early enough they could be saved but most of the time the Drones would drag the host to a secluded location to allow the  preventing that option.

Signing off on another building permit, Yoyo glanced out of the window. Below he could see the secondary wall taking shape as the buildings surrounding the Imperial Complex were being cleared and fortified as well, the remaining citizens moving into them as soon as they were completed. It was strange how a change could introduce a new perspective. Instead of being a bastion of fear the Complex was viewed as a place of safety by the locals this loop. As the disappearances increased Yoyo suggested that they offer sanctuary to the city's young and infirm inside the complex, Minister Tua had been happy to agree and with a bit of effort a couple of the least used bays were converted into refugee camps. In truth the Complex was the safest place in the city at the moment, right at the beginning he'd had every droid he could get his hands on mobilized to seal any unneeded access points and vents; then he had placed monitors to watch for any breaches. So far there been only one attempted breach and the counter attack had wiped out that particular group of enemies.

A ding from the computer registered the receipt of a new message. Reading it Yoyo raised a brow. So it appeared that the Empire were apparently taking this seriously, a small fleet was enroute to create a blockade around Lothal. The Inquisitor was also being assigned to aid in the effort and for once that was a great relief. Hopefully, using the Force, the Inquisitor could track down where the main Hive was established. The kung were not going to win.

Leaning back in his chair Yoyo couldn't help having misgivings. Things seemed to be moving towards the better, so why did he have a swirling feeling in his stomach that things would be getting more chaotic soon.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Evading a blow by leaping forwards into a roll, Yoyo couldn't help cursing at Yggdrasil for this latest change. Swiftly recovering to his feet he drew a glaive from his Pocket and turned to face his attacker.

Snarling the Yautja Pack Leader moved to reengage Yoyo in combat. It had arrived upon this world at first to hunt the Kainde Amedha, the Hard Meat. A valuable prey that could turn a fight outcome around with a flick of their claws. Overcoming such difficulty was a sign of courage and honour to his tribes. However the ultimate hunt was that of a predator that hunted predators and on this world it had found such a being. This hunter had claimed the life of many of the Hard Meat, had fought them at range and at close quarters and come out alive and victorious. This hunter was truly a worthy prey, a glorious hunt. Success or defeat, life or death, this would another great step along the Path.

Snarling in return Yoyo deflected the Predator's downward swing before pushing forward his assault. Burning rage filled his mind, this was not at all the right time for this. Yoyo liked a good fight, he and Zeb usually got in a decent spar whenever they had a loop together, but just like Zeb there were things Yoyo would prioritise over a decent fight. And in this case, the safety and wellbeing of the people of Lothal were his top priority right now. The Grand Inquisitor was still tracking down the main Hive location after successfully tracking down and burning out some secondary locations. Despite this success there were still large numbers of the Hive moving around Capital City and this stupid battle-obsessed sleemo, Yoyo glared at his adversary as he deflected another blow, had torn a gap in the Imperial Complex's defences in its eagerness to fight with him putting the non-combatants in danger. If he fell now, the Complex would be left weakened putting everyone inside, his troopers, the civilians, their children at risk. Yoyo would not allow that, he would not, could not fall with so many relying on him. This would not be fight but a slaughter.

* * *

**31.6     [Jedi Temple Riddle]** (numair2304)

Inside Lothal's Jedi Temple Ezra kept a steady stride as he moved through one of the corridors. It was time to take the Trials this loop. Looking ahead Ezra could see the fork in the tunnel which was the usual starting point, his stride slowed as he noticed the difference. The fork was still in place but something stood guard before it. Taking in the wings, lion's body and women's head Ezra realized that a sphinx blocked his path.

Coming to a halt before the Sphinx, Ezra tentatively gave a little wave.

"Hi." He said awkwardly. "May I pass?"

"Answer my riddle and you will be granted passage."

"Um ok."

The sphinx cleared its throat.

"Here lies Diophantus, the wonder behold.

Through art algebraic, the stone tells how old:

God gave him his boyhood one-sixth of his life,

One twelfth more as youth while whiskers grew rife;

And then yet one-seventh ere marriage begun;

In five years there came a bouncing new son.

Alas, the dear child of master and sage

After attaining half the measure of his father's life chill fate took him.

After consoling his fate by the science of numbers for four years, he ended his life."

The sphinx gave a twisted smile.

"At what age did Diophantus take his last breath?"

Ezra's head was whirling with numbers.

"Could you repeat that please?"

* * *

**31.7     [Clones and Joobas]** (numair2304)

"Ezra, be on guard." Kanan said.

An Awake Ezra gave him a nod and turning his attention back to the door in the walker waited alongside his unAwake crew mates for signs of life. As the group waited a gust caused the hanging wind chimes to tinkle.

The door opened and Ezra stared at the figure revealed, this wasn't the usual face he expected. Rex had a smile filled with razor teeth, scaled skin and was that a tail?

"They're clones!" Ezra was distracted from his observations by Kanan's angry yell and Wolffe's reaction.

Several minutes later, after cooler heads had prevailed, both groups had moved into the interior of the walker. During the discussions Ezra couldn't help sneaking glances at the former clone troopers.

Rex had a smile a crocodile would be proud of, Wolffe looked liked he could pass as a wolfman and Gregor seemed part kangaroo. It appeared this loop that the Kaminoan's hadn't been satisfied with using the same genetic template for the clone troopers, instead it appeared that they had spliced other strains into the mix as well.

* * *

Zeb Woke to the ground cracking around him. His mind quickly registered events; the walker behind, the line attached to him, the presence below him.

"Oh karabast." He muttered before he was dragged under.

Aboard the walker the expectant veterans and worried Spectres watched as the line pulled away tearing through the soil. Their eyes filled with surprise as the line slackened and the ground started to shake. The surprise changed to sheer disbelief as in a fountain of dirt the ground erupted and the giant worm was flung into the air. All eyes were drawn as it seemed to steadily rise into the air. Despite its size the Joopa's body actually cleared the ground by ten feet before slamming back into the ground, the impact kicking up a dust cloud that mixed with the previous dirt plume.

When the dust cleared, a scarred landscape came into view. A figure emerged from the dust beside the Joopa's unmoving form, intact and undaunted. The only signs of his previous predicament were torn clothes and minor scratches.

On the walker the people were quiet, all jaws hung agape and eyes were wide; even the walker's engine seemed muted.

In the silence, Zeb cracked his knuckles.

"I am no-one's dinner." Zeb stated over the silence.

* * *

They had thought it was a baseline loop, now it was revealed to be a variant as in place of Rex's group they had found a different group on their arrival. Now standing on the sands of Seelos the Awake crewmembers (Ezra, Kanan, Sabine and Zeb) could only stare and listen.

"Aye, aye! It was that accursed white worm that razed me; made a poor pegging lubber of me forever and a day!" The peg legged man then tossed both arms up, with measureless imprecations he shouted out. "Aye, aye! And I'll chase him round Forlorn Hope, and round the Spear, and round the Faeway Whirlwind, and round perdition's flames before I give him up. And this is what ye have shipped for, men! To chase that white worm on both sides of land, and over all sides of Seelos, till he spouts black blood and rolls shell out."

As the man kept yelling, lost in his speech, one of his crew sidled up to the Spectres. In an aside crew mate remarked.

"Call me Ishmael. Apologies for Captain Ahab. He can get carried away talking about his past when he far into his cups. Nice to come across new company on these troubled sands."

* * *

**31.8     [Rise of the Spectres]** (numair2304)

Ezra Woke to find himself surrounded by four strangers. Firing off a Ping he received multiple replies, taking in the unfocused eyes of the group around him and recognising the familiar presences he spoke up.

"Ok I'm pretty sure everyone here is on the same page. I'm Ezra. Is everyone Awake and looking for an Anchor?"

Murmurs of agreement came from the rest.

"Ok who's who?" Ezra asked "Spectres sound off."

"Kanan here." The big man in the red coat said.

"Sabine here." The girl with wings wearing a green dress said.

"Zeb here." The human sized bunny with a frown said.

The individual composed of glittering sand tried to speak but no sound came from their mouth. Eventually they wrote a message in sand above their head. "Hera here."

"Has anyone know if Chopper might be around?" Ezra asked.

Kanan raised a hand. "I think he's one of my Yeti's. I can remember one acting different from the average."

"Better fetch him before we work out the story of this loop."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The aforementioned Awake Chopper had been located and added to the group. Kanan had had to drag the whistling Yeti away from a group of toy soldiers he'd decided to paint in a kaleidoscope of colours.

"So this loop we guard children." Kanan said, studying his twin swords.

_|"Isn't it great! I get to give all the children happy dreams at night_."| Hera cheerfully swirled sand in one hand. She had decided to skip using charades to communicate and was relying on their bond.

"I protect their memories." Sabine said melancholy inspecting her blade.

The rest of the crew shared a look. They all knew that Sabine's baseline past had been lost in one of the Yggdrasil's earlier crashes and despite the expansions to their loop that still hadn't changed. Actually being a guardian of memories this loop was hitting that particular sore spot.

Ezra sidled over to his girlfriend and put his arm around her, giving a gentle squeeze as to comfort her. A change of topic was required, Chopper was happy to provide one.

"Gurrh whargg" Chopper waved cheerfully

"What did he say?" Zeb asked.

"I'm seven foot of pure fluffy muscle." Kanan translated.

Chopper grinned and posed, flexing his arms. Most of the crew smiled at the sight and even Sabine cracked a slight smile.

Ezra broke the moment by slapping his hands together.

"Ok, all you guys and girls are guardians, I'm not. Judging from my memories old Jack Frost here has been a free spirit for the last three hundred years. Last thing I remember was being thrown in a sack and brought here."

"Zeb suggested that." Kanan said, pointing towards where Zeb was throwing his boomerang into the air.

"Hey that's not fair I wasn't even Awake then." Catching the boomerang as it fell Zeb smiled. "Good idea though."

_|"The Man in the Moon chose Ezra aka Jack Frost to be the newest Guardian."|_ Hera formed a quarter moon out of sand.

Prodding the ground with his staff, Ezra watched as ice spread from the impact point.

"That's something else I don't understand. Why do I have the ice powers this loop, that seems more your deal?" Ezra said, directing the last question towards Kanan.

"No idea, I still have mine." Kanan created an ice crystal for a moment before letting it evaporate.

"Never mind that. We're the guardians of these kids right, so what are we guarding them from." Zeb smacked a closed first into an open palm. "Who do we have to beat-up?"

"The Boogyman, Pitch Black." Kanan answered.

"So we have to find this Pitch and defeat him?" Sabine asked, twirling her blade getting a feel for it.

"Yeah about that." A new voice replied.

A darkness flowed out of the room's shadows and coalesced into a single puddle of liquid black. It rose to form the thin pale figure of a man dressed in black. Unsure of this intrusion a few hands started moving towards weapons.

"Whoah! Whoah! Whoah!" The man hastily threw his hands up in surrender. "Awake here! It's me Yoyo."

The tension in the room relaxed accompanied by some embarrassed expressions.

"Sorry about that." Ezra apologized for the group.

"So," Sabine surveyed Yoyo's in-loop form. "I take it you're replacing Pitch Black."

"Yep. These shadow powers are quite fun to use." Forming a scythe out of shadow, Yoyo smirked as he spun it in one hand before letting it disperse. That done he slumped slightly. "I do have to ask thought why I keep being cast as the villain in outside loops. Yes I admit my original role was that of one of the primary antagonists of our home loop but still..."

"Oh come on Yoyo, you're not always replacing the villain." Zeb refuted.

"Callous Moon." Yoyo stated.

"Technically you were replacing Luna not the Nightmare." Ezra argued.

"Still..."

"How about Harry's world? You weren't a Death Eater or a dark wizard, you were just a student at Hogwarts." Sabine suggested.

"Yes as a Slytherin." Yoyo replied.

Ezra just stared at him for a moment. "Ok, now you're just reaching." Ignoring Yoyo mumbling in disagreement Ezra focused on the rest of the group. "So the implied threat is nonexistent, the children are safe for the present, looks like we can count this as a vacation loop apart from our set duties. Anyone have anything left to add?"

Yoyo stopped his grumbling and waved a hand. "I do have one last question. Does anyone have any idea of what I do with a horde of Nightmares?

* * *

**31.9     [Changes Maketh the Moment]** (numair2304)

All she could feel was pain.

Tears dried up, pleas for mercy ignored by her tormentors. The fragile faith in her superiors shattered by their cruelty.

Cutting into her, burning into her. Questions, demands for information.

Poisoned promises that the pain would stop if she just talked. All lies, she had told them all she knew and the inquisition continued.

A mistake made, a hand slipped. Angry voices but for once not directed at her, her interrogators trying to push blame onto each other.

The pain faded away replaced by a growing cold. She remembered dying before, consumed by heat and light. Maybe this time it would be permanent. She closed her eyes to the world and let the dark drag her under.

Something was wrong. The cold was replaced by warmth and the pain was gone. Opening her eyes she saw not the grey walls of her cell but her former office on Lothal. Clutching at her arms, the pain of her fingernails biting into the skin reinforcing that this was real, she was safe. Her feelings of relief was thrown away in a moment by a familiar voice asking her a question.

"Minister Tua? Are you ok?"

Recognizing one of her torturers in the room terror gripped her.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yoyo sighed as he approached the Minister's office.

The objective at the moment was to subtlety suggest to the Minister that mass producing T-7 Ion Disruptor Rifles was not a good idea. The woman meant well, she really did, she wanted to arm the Imperial troops with the best and she knew that said weapons had been instrumental in securing Lasan for the Empire . What Tua didn't know was their effect upon organics or that they were the reason for the near extinction of the Lasats. A few leaked files demonstrating their effects should have the woman disgusted with the idea and looking into other weapon designs for the Empire.

Walking through the door he was surprised to observe Tua tightly hugging herself.

"Minister Tua? Are you ok?"

The reaction to his honest question was troubling. The moment Minister Tua heard his voice she tensed and her eyes upon seeing him were filled with emotion. She was scared of him Yoyo realized, no forget scared he thought taking note of her mannerisms she was absolutely terrified.

Maketh could hear her heartbeat filling the room with noise, the sound deafening to her ears. She had to reply, she had to appear normal, she couldn't go back to that pain, not again. It was just an ordinary day, nothing out the normal, just a normal day. Taking a deep breath, pushing the fear to the side for a moment, she managed a reply.

"Nothing is wrong Agent Kallus. Was there a particular reason you wanted to see me?"

Observing the Minister, Yoyo could admit to being confused, she might have buried her fear but he could see that her grip was tenuous at best. What he couldn't understand was what had brought this on. He'd had a security meeting with her only yesterday and nothing like this had occurred. What had changed between then and now.

Observing that she wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong, Yoyo decided to play along for now while he studied the situation.

"Yes Minister. I wanted to talk to you about the latest report on the rebels–"

"I'VE TOLD YOU ALL I KNOW ABOUT THE REB–"

Maketh slapped her hand over her mouth, the terror back on her face. It had been a pure instinctual reaction, the words that she repeated on the interrogation table, ingrained into her being breaking out.

Forget confused, Yoyo was heading towards befuddled. What was going here? Why did she react do defensively when the rebels were mentioned? Why was she so scared of him. The questions cycled in Yoyo's head with no apparent solution. The terror that the Minister had buried was back with a vengeance and for the strangest of reasons. Why would she think that he wanted information about the rebels from her, she hadn't even encountered them yet this loop. Her trip to Garel, the usual first meeting with them in the loop, was scheduled for later this month. Judging from her reactions, her body language, it was like she expected him to demand answers of her but why would he ask her about people she hadn't even met.. yet... Upon that thought a horrible suspicion filled him.

"Maketh do you remember the shuttle explosion?" Yoyo asked testing the waters.

The waters proved to be unstable and Yoyo watched in horror as Maketh broke down.

"Not again, not again, I don't know anything. I swear I don't, it was just a dream. Please not again."

Her voice started quietly but increased in volume and emotion as she pleaded. Yoyo wasn't sure if she was pleading to him or the world at large. His mind raced, she was Awake, Maketh was Awake. How long had she been looping and what had she suffered?

"Maketh please calm down." He begged, raising one hand in comfort. "It'll be ok."

She flinched away from his hand, her pleading taking on a new level. His spirits sank as he realized what she was saying.

"I've told you all that I know. Please, I don't know anything else. Please don't hurt me."

That last phrase dug into Yoyo, eating away at him. He quickly pulled himself together, he needed to act. So far no-one had entered the Minister's office but that could change at any moment. He needed to get Maketh out of here, get her somewhere safe. Ezra and Zeb were both Awake, so that answered the where. The problem was how to get Maketh there, she was too hysterical to listen to him and even if she wasn't... if his suspicions were right she wouldn't want to listen to him. Considering his options Yoyo came to a decision much as he loathed it.

Weeping openly Maketh wanted to curl up and disappear. She was going back, back to the four closed walls and the pain that followed. Not again, it couldn't happen not again. No escape, not the pain again, the questions she couldn't answer or the answers they wouldn't accept.

Through her tears Maketh lost sight of Agent Kallus for a moment as he seemed to blur out of sight. A tight hold on her throat cutting short her breath made her realize his location. No, not again. She struggled against the arm, kicking backwards to try and make him release her but the man held his position. Her struggles cut into her diminishing energy, her vision was darkening at the edges. Not the pain again, no. As she fell into darkness she could hear Agent Kallus whisper.

"I'm sorry, I promise, I swear to you that when you wake up you'll be somewhere safe."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maketh opened her eyes with a gasp, finding herself lying down looking at a ceiling a few feet above her. She jerked to the side, fully expecting to find herself restrained. To her shock nothing hindered her movements, shock that increased when she rolled off whatever she was lying on and felt gravity take hold.

Luckily the fall was minute and with a thump she hit the floor, the sudden surprise of the impact sending adrenaline pumping through her system rather than a pain response. Recovering her wits she drew herself into a sitting position, back braced against the bunk she had apparently fallen off as she stared warily at her surroundings.

This wasn't the interrogation room, neither was it a cell. She took in the details, basic sleeping quarters with twin bunks and an open door reveling a corridor outside. Where was she? Why did this place seem familiar?

She carefully rose to her feet and approached the open door. Carefully she leaned forward, prepared to jump back at a moment's notice, and looked outside. She saw a corridor with open doors. Wait she knew this place from her dreams or, as she felt something inside of her twist in a grimace, maybe they were nightmares. The memories she had usually ended with her consumed by fire and fear. Sometimes though she was saved, was safe, was taken away from place that had so quickly turned from a haven to a prison. When the dreams had piled down upon her she was so confused. In her confusion she had sought out the aid of the man who had been a protector in so many of her memories, Agent Kallus. He had turned out to be anything but that, he had been the one to turn her over to interrogation and had been one of the prominent interrogators.

She shuddered and suppressing her fear took another step forward out into the corridor. She was sure she was right. This was the rebels ship, the Ghost she thought they called it, wasn't it? Had they saved her again from the Empire like in her previous dreams?

As she warily made her way through the ship she jumped when she heard a voice yell.

"A CHOKEHOLD! SERIOSULY YOYO!"

With a start she realized that it was the voice of the younger rebel, Ezra, yelling. Cautiously she moved in the direction of the voice down the corridor. There was an open door at the end which appeared to be where the voice was coming from.

"Just let me–"

A new voice trying to talk but unable to make ground against the other. Maketh frowned as she moved closer. She thought that she recognized that voice.

"YOU THINK WE HAVE A NEW LOOPER AND THE FIRST THING YOU DO IS PUT HER IN A CHOKEHOLD! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"

"I WAS THINKING I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!" Maketh froze as she recognized that voice, Agent Kallus. Was he here to recapture her?

A calmer voice intruded breaking up the yelling. Shaking slightly from fear Maketh inched forward to overhear.

"Ezra calm down and give him a chance to explain. You explain."

Reaching the door Maketh peeked around the frame. The lounge was as she remembered with three people standing inside. The younger rebel, Ezra Bridger, the Lasat, Zeb she believed his name was, and Agent Kallus. Luckily none of them were looking towards the door and the one she was really worried about had his back to her. Maketh pulled her head back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Zeb." There came a deep breath and then Agent Kallus continued. "As I was trying to explain Ezra, I haven't picked up any abilities that can induce sleep, either in loop or out of loop. No Force suggestion, no magic, the closest thing I have to a technological alterative is a taser, usually when I want someone unconscious I just knock them out. I needed to get her off the premises as quick as possible without out being noticed and dragging her out screaming would have been noticed."

"Why didn't you just try to explain to her what was happening!?" Ezra asked angrily.

There came a mumble from Agent Kallus.

"What was that!?" Ezra demanded.

"She was scared of me, Ezra, absolutely terrified."

Maketh jumped as a loud thwack resonated in the corridor, screwing up her courage she peeked around the doorframe again. She blinked in surprise, Kallus had punched the closest wall to him. She watched as he continued to speak, the disgust in his voice clear to all to hear.

"It wasn't the repeating timeline that was scaring her, not the discovery that she was alive again. It was me, my mere presence near her was making her breakdown. I don't think this is her first loop, I think she Woke up before and tried to figure what was going on. If she started asking questions, if she approached me and I got suspicious then she would have ended up in interrogation. There's no telling what I did to her when she–"

Kallus tried to punch the wall again but the fist was intercepted by Zeb's palm. Zeb's free hand moved to rest upon Kallus's shoulder.

"Stop, just stop." Zeb said in a measured tone. "I've told you this before. It is not your fault, you are not to blame for anything an unAwake version of yourself does. You are Yoyo, my friend and occasional sparring partner."

Ezra moved up alongside them, placing a comforting hand on the man's other shoulder. Maketh stared as the two comforted the Agent.

"He's right Yoyo, you are not to blame. Even if it was a Agent Kallus who hurt her that doesn't mean it was even your baseline self, I've seen variants of you that make Tarkin seem kind."

"Heck," Zeb said, "Ezra once even encountered a version of me that worked alongside the Empire against my own people. Happy to serve the Empire in the extinction of his own people, that piece of bantha fodder was not me just like the Agent Kallus she met wasn't you."

"You're right, I know you're both right." Kallus sighed. "It's just not fair you know. A new looper activates and her first introduction isn't with any of us but with the darker side of this loop. It was bad enough in baseline. Maketh actually cares about Lothal and its people, she believed that the Empire was a good thing and that innocence was ripped from her, it's always ripped away from her and why?"

Maketh flinched in the doorway as Kallus– no they called him Yoyo– as Yoyo's voice rose but held her ground.

"BECAUSE SO-CALLED GRAND MOFF TARKIN CAN'T ACCEPT BLAME FOR HIS OWN FAILINGS, NO HE HAS TO HAVE A SCAPEGOAT!"

He sagged.

"Tarkin always decides she should take the fall for the escape or the continued rebel presence. If we don't alter events she dies, if the rebels stay away after her message the Empire just sets a false scene framing the rebels and she dies, if I don't interfere and save her she dies, if we don't do something she–"

"I die..." Came a small voice. Maketh was surprised to find it was hers.

All eyes turned towards the doorway where she stood. Flinching under the attention, still scared, she managed to steel herself enough to hold her ground. She gazed at each figure in turn until she arrived at the one she was most hesitant to make eye contact with. A haunted look and a pale expression were revealed on the face of Ka- Yoyo, with a shock Maketh realized that the man actually seemed scared of her.

"Not if we can help it." Ezra said kindly yet firmly. "You have questions I'm sure and we have answers. We promise you're safe here so–"

With a wave he indicated one of the empty seats.

Maketh nervously crossed over and sat down on the seat offered. Silently she noted that Yoyo had retreated slightly at her approach.

Moving slowly Ezra seated himself in the seat opposite her. Unsure of where to start he rubbed the back of his head for a moment before coming to a decision, sticking his hand out to her in greeting.

"Let's try this from the beginning. Hello, I'm Ezra your resident Anchor and welcome to the Loops."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 31.1: Season 2, Episode 5
> 
> The next loop expansion is in. I've decided to pick up the speed with the expansions otherwise they probably be up to five seasons while I'm still watching season two.
> 
> 31.2: Make a Connection cont(10.5, 11.1, 11.9, 14.6, 18.1, 22.1 25.2, 30.2, 31.2)
> 
> After all the strange things that happen during this lesson, I wondered how Ezra and Kanan would react to something normal, average and everyday turning up.
> 
> 31.3: Walk into a Room (14.3, 21.2, 24.3, 31.3)
> 
> 31.4: Heard the music and thought it fitted well with Sabine's actions.
> 
> 31.5: For those who haven't worked it out, the alien mentioned is the star of Ridley Scott's Alien. It's strange but despite it being a cult hit the species depicted has never really been given a proper name. One marine in the films refer to it as a xenomorph but that just means alien or foreign form. The marine was just calling it a non-human lifeform.
> 
> Kung means scum in Huttnesse.  
> Sleemo means jerk.  
> The Yatuja in the final scene is the species featured in Predator.
> 
> 31.6: An interesting riddle I found. Can you work out the answer?
> 
> 31.7: Just some ideas for first meetings with clones and joopas.
> 
> An Awake Zeb really does pack a punch.
> 
> 31.8: Rise of the Guardians Rebels style.
> 
> I'm sorry to do that to Sabine. I delegated parts to each of the crew before I wrote the sketch and while writing realised how being allocated Tooth's role would affect Sabine.
> 
> 31.9: A new looper enters the scene.


	32. TCAoaTTP 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rage Unbound, Praise the Afro, The Hunt, Last Rites, Not the Usual, Not Bucketheads, Maketh Education

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**32.1     [Rage Unbound]** (numair2304)

Aboard the Ghost an Awake Sabine and unAwake Ezra sat in the lounge chatting. The conversation came to a halt when Ezra Woke up in mid word and with a groan sank back into his chair. Glancing over at him and noting the change in presence Sabine gave a prod through their bond.

"I take it you didn't have the most relaxing time last loop."

Ezra remained sagging back in the chair, staring at the lounge's ceiling.

"The last loop was Eiken, the loop before that I was in some kind of weird varient of the Marvel verse where the various Lantern Corps existed as well."

Sabine considered the scenario. "Ok, that's a new one on me but I can't see how that would make of a difference to the usual chaos.

"A lone Dalek turned up in the loop wearing a Red Lantern ring. Well I kind of thought to fight fire with fire."

"What did you do?" Sabine sighed knowing this hadn't ended well.

Ezra winced. "I might of given the Hulk his own Red Lantern ring and pointed him at the Dalek."

"You decided that the best thing was for hatred incarnate to fight against rage incarnate, both of them using the same weapon." Sabine sighed. "Why would have them fight? It would be better to use the Green and Blue rings in combination to counter the Red." She paused, realising that would have been the ideal solution. "You just wanted an excuse to give the Hulk a ring, didn't you." She accused Ezra.

Ezra winced again, he had wondered how the Hulk would get on with the ring. Apparently the two worked together well, in fact maybe a little well.

"So come on, what happened after you handed over the ring?" Sabine asked.

"They started fighting and no one could stop them. They created their own infinite feedback loop, one would be sent flying and return to the fight even more enraged escalating their conflict. Their emotions grew to the point that the Butcher was drawn to the fight and fused with both of them pushing the power level of their fight even higher. Something had to give and it was the fabric of the universe that gave in first."

Ezra grimaced as he remembered feeling time and space rip to pieces around him for a few brief moments before the loop crashed. It hadn't been the nicest of sensations. Waking up to find himself in Eiken with an aching back came a close second.

Sabine gave her boyfriend no pity.

"And what did we learn from this?"

Ezra hazarded a grin. "Next time have a Blue Lantern around to calm things down."

Sabine just gave him a flat look.

Ezra huffed. "Fine! Dalek plus Hulk plus Red Lantern equals loop crash. Avoid in future."

Sabine patted his head. "Good boy."

* * *

**32.2     [Praise the Afro]** (numair2304)

"You have to make a connection..."

Ezra just stared.

"Ezra, are you listening to me?

Ezra shook his head focusing on Kanan's face. "What... I...err sorry. My mind was on... other things."

Kanan sighed. "You have to pay attention Ezra if you want to be able to channel the funk." His hand shot to the sky pointing. "PRAISE THE JIVE. HALLELUJAH!"

"Right..." Ezra murmured, his eyes drawn again to the afro that bobbed atop Kanan's head.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yoyo stared at the troops on parade, maintaining a straight face even if he was mentally facepalming.

It was a usual cursory inspection staring out at the rows of soldiers marching past his position, all orderly and saluting as they past. There was only slight problem drawing his eyes up. Every helmet had a white afro affixed to it. What was worse was that judging from the extra weight of the helmet on his head he was most likely sporting his own addition at the moment.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Inside the Ghost's lounge Ezra and Yoyo sat in the sofa drinking their own poison of choice. The rest of the crew bar one were away on a mission so they didn't have to worry about anyone complaining about the ISB agent's presence. After a few drams of whiskey Yoyo felt composed enough to ask the question that had been bugging him since he'd woken up.

"What is up with this loop?"

"Not a clue." Ezra stated after a few sips of his own drink. "It's a variant of course but I haven't got a clue why it exists. The Force is the same as our baseline. There's no reason for everyone to be sporting afros."

And wasn't that the kicker. Everyone in this loop had an afro, even species that were hairless somehow had an afro this loop. As if to underline the point Chopper passed through the compartment finished with his task in the galley, his normal figure doubled in size by the large multi-colored afro planted atop his frame.

Yoyo watched Chopper leave the room.

"Was that Loki or is he..." Yoyo asked unsurely.

"Oh Chopper's Awake all right." Ezra answered.

"So why is he..." Yoyo questioned, his hands sketching out the afro.

"He says he likes it." Ezra stated bluntly.

"Oh." Yoyo said, just for something to say.

Silence fell over the three.

* * *

**32.3     [The Hunt]** (numair2304)

Ezra yawned as he crawled his way out of the campsite, the tree roots over his head leaving just enough space to grant passage out of the secluded clearing. Reaching the other side and climbing to his feet he watched as a couple of nearby Shepherd Hares were spooked by the sudden movement and scampered away into the undergrowth. Stretching, his arms above his head as his back strained, he took in the scenery as the growing light lit the world around him.

Pale dawn revealed a deep forest, rich and verdant. Plants grew well in the soil and reached eagerly for the new sun. The lush and leafy shrubs, bushes and trees despite their health and vigor were dwarfed by what grew at the centre of the forest. Towering over the rest of the forest a vast network of trees conjoined and woven together reached far into the sky, their unity creating an ancient tree that gave its name to the rest of the forest it loomed over, the Ancient Forest. The awakening forest was filled with the low calls and whistles of various small animals moving around staring the new day or finished the previous night; and accompanying those sounds were the occasional loud screech or angry snarl as larger things laid out their territory. A beating of wings as a small group of Mernos flew past, probably heading to the nearby Scatternut vines for a meal.

Ezra took a deep breath, the air was clean with that little bit of damp in the morning that made everything seem fresh, and just stood for a while feeling the forest breath and live around him. It was interesting this new world he found himself in, a world with a complex ecosystem and a vast variety of predator and prey, with sizes ranging from the small to the behemoth. He had Woke to find himself as member of the Fifth Fleet, a group predominantly made up of hunters of which he was one, their goal was to search for answers about the Eldar Crossing, a migration of Elder Dragons from the termed Old World to the New World, a continent across the ocean. Following the path they had arrived at the New World and had united with the Fleets that had arrived before them. Settling in at Astera, the main base of operations in the New World, the Fifth added their support to the various efforts in the search for answers. Most of the hunters of the Fifth set out to explore the terrain, hunting or capturing the local flora and fauna for study. Ezra had been one of the early leavers, accompanied by a hunting partner and fellow looper. Said partner had left the campsite even earlier that same morning to explore the higher reaches of the treetops. It was time to catch up with him.

Ezra moved forward towards a nearby cliff edge and reaching the lip tensed his legs preparing to jump down to the forest floor below, the drop negligible. There was a large thump as something large landed behind him followed by a hiss. He sighed and turned around slowly, though there a small part of his hind brain that screamed to fight or flee, the only reason he didn't dive to one side was the reassuring presence he could feel behind him. Behind him a fanged wyvern reared up on two legs, the grayish blue scales and white fur covering its slim squirrel-like form gleaming silver in the strengthening light. The threatening image this portrayed was detracted however when the wyvern dropped back onto its four legs and revealed a cheerfully waving Zeb sitting astride the creature's back.

"Yo Ezra! How are you this fine morning?"

Ezra gave him a wry grin and gestured to Zeb's mount. "Should I ask?"

Zeb shrugged his shoulders. "I was scouting around when I came across this guy in the canopy. Well I thought as long as we're hunting these guys, why not tame one as well. What do you think, cool eh?"

"Is that a Tobi-Kadachi?" Ezra asked, studying the wyvern in detail.

Zeb nodded, giving his mount a pat on the back.

"Yeah isn't he a cutie."

The wyvern purred at the attention slightly rolling its shoulders and rubbing its tail against the ground. There was a thrum of a building charge and a slight smell of ozone. Ezra recalled what some of the other hunters had mentioned about this particular species, their fur picks up static electricity while brushing against the trees and ground. Looking closer he could see the wyvern's hair standing on end, the occasional spark as voltage arced and yet

 Zeb was just sitting there nonchalantly.

Ezra waved his hand towards the charged fur. "He's generating a ton of static. How are you not getting electrocuted right now!?"

Zeb gave him a broad grin, raising his free hand over his chest.

"Iron Dragon Slayer mate, living lighting rod. I can control how the current flows through me avoiding damage."

* * *

**32.4     [Last Rites]** (numair2304)

Standing inside an Imperial cell, Kanan and Ezra stood by the coffin containing the last remains of Jedi Master Luminara.

"What happened to her? I don't understand." Ezra asked Kanan.

"No? It doesn't seem complicated." A voice outside the cell spoke up, turning Ezra and Kanan beheld a figure standing beyond the open door. "I am the Inquisitor." At the title he swept his hand across and ignited a lightsaber. Stepping forward into the cell, the door slammed shut behind him. "Welcome." He smiled gleefully. Kanan ignited his own blade in response. "Yes, I'm afraid that Master Luminara died with the Republic. But her bones continue to serve the Empire, luring the last Jedi to their ends."

"We know. We came to lay her bones to rest."

The Inquisitor paused as the two rebels straightened up and glared at him. The cell suddenly felt smaller, the door had been shut to prevent their escape, he now realized it also left him locked in with them. The Force whispered that that was a mistake. It was over in an instant. One second he was facing them with a lit blade, the next the blade was wrenched from his hand and something hit the side of his head sending him into darkness.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The ruse was simple, set rumours of Luminara's survival and imprisonment and use it as bait to draw in any surviving Jedi. The Stygeon Prison, known commonly as The Spire, was the site of the trap. The prison's location remote enough from the main Imperial routes with just the right blind spots in some approaches to lure prey to sneak inside. Once far enough inside the trap would close tight. However this time it didn't seem to working out as planned. A group of four people had infiltrated the facility and started heading to the relevant cell blocks. Once they split into two groups of two the plan was for the first group heading deeper into the facility would be met with the Grand Inquisitor, the other group would be intercepted by a squad of guards. The Grand Inquisitor made contact with the intruders but since then there had been no communications from the man and when the squad had attempted to seize the group defending their believed escape route all they found was an empty lift with no sign of the intruders.

The Imperial Captain in charge of security was getting worried as more time passed and everything remained quiet. With no instructions from the Grand Inquisitor and no sign of the intruders, the Captain had no choice but to seal the facility and raise the alarm. He had the patrols searching the entire facility for the intruders. His Lieutenant entered the room and stood to attention.

"At ease Lieutenant! State your report!"

The Lieutenant relaxed. "Sir, all patrols report no sightings so far. There have been no attempts to breach the perimeter that we can see. To all apparent appearances the intruders have disappeared. What are the Grand Inquisitor's orders?"

The Captain grimaced. "I've been unable to get in contact with him. I've directed Squads 2 and 7 to his last known position."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Approaching the cell block orders were being issued to the squads.

"Keep it tight people. Squad 2 hold back just case, make sure that no one sneaks up on our position. Squad 7 you're with me."

With a guard on either side of the cell door, their officer nodded and the door release was pressed. The door slid open to reveal... no intruders, no Grand Inquisitor, no cryogenic chamber holding the remains of Luminara, just an empty cell. A muffled roar drew the men's attention up to where the Grand Inquisitor was duct-taped to the ceiling, snarling through the strip over his mouth, a Force Suppression Collar around his neck preventing him from freeing himself from the binds. The closest guard after some hesitation reached and pulled the strip off the Inquisitor's mouth.

With eyes blazing with fury the Grand Inquisitor enunciated each word. "GET! ME! DOWN! FROM! HERE!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In another system on an uninhabited forest moon a small funeral pyre, Luminara's body placed atop, stood in clearing surrounded by a solemn Spectre crew.

Holding a lit torch Kanan stepped forward and ignited the pyre. As the flames rose, Kanan spoke.

"We say goodbye to a compassionate Jedi Master, disciplined, calm, patient. A causality of Order 66, shot in the back while organising the healing of the wounded on Kashyyyk. She will be missed."

The crew remained at silent vigil until the pyre was down to embers, then made their way back to the Ghost.

* * *

**32.5     [Not the Usual]** (numair2304)

Ezra sat in the abandoned communications tower at a computer, waiting for an answer to his sent query.

_BTHead: Anyone there?_

In baseline the tower had been Ezra's only home since childhood until his encounter with the Spectres and his inclusion into the crew. When he'd Awoke his plans for this loop had been suspended when his current loop memories stated that things were different. His usual status as an orphan was changed this loop. He wasn't an orphan on his own, the tower his only home until his encounter with the Spectres and his inclusion in the crew; instead his parents were at home right now happily having a meal with Tseebo and the tower was just his teenage hideaway when he wanted time to himself.

Waking up to these kind of loops were usually joyful periods for Ezra but there was a slight problem. There was no sign of the rest of the Ghost crew. The ship itself wasn't registered in the system and there were no sightings of any of the crew through the search he done on the local computer systems. Through the Force he could feel two bonds with Awake members of the crew but the connections were so weak that he was unable to identify exactly who was Awake. Judging that the weakness was due to distance apart, the Awake Spectres weren't even in the same sector let alone the same system.

Normally he would just take a ship out of his Pocket and just go hunting for them, but he had a normal family this loop. A family who cared for him and would be worried if he just disappeared on them so for now he was attempting to make contact through the HoloNet.  His quiet vigil was met with success as a new line appeared on the screen

_MamaBear: I'm here. Are you ok Ezra?_

Before Ezra could finish a reply a new message popped up.

_TheIronSpeaker: Ezra, Hera nice to see you around._

_MamaBear: Hi Zeb!_

_BTHead: I'm ok Hera. Zeb good to hear from you. I think we're the only ones Awake for now. Only picking you two up from the bond._

_MamaBear: You don't think Kanan is Awake?_

_TheIronSpeaker: Yeah I mean I thought he sometimes blocks the connection from time to time._

_BTHead: While that's true, I don't think there's much of a reason for him to do so._

_Yoyo'd: Yoyo here. Glad to see you guys are out there. It's my first loop with this kind of scenario._

_BTHead: I take it everyone has noticed the obvious change._

Ezra glanced at an empty wall, his collection of stolen Imperial soldier helmets unable to exist there as in this loop the Empire hadn't been established, the Republic was still standing, they were in a Variant loop. No Empire meant no arrest of his parents for their revolutionary broadcasts about the Empire's rule, it also meant no Spectre crew as there was no Rebel Alliance to resist said Empire. Focusing back on the messages Ezra saw that they'd diverted on a different tangent.

_TheIronSpeaker: Yoyo where have you been!?_

_TheIronSpeaker: I've been trying to catch you for the last two loops. We need to finish our duel, the loop ended just before I was declared the victor. I claim the victory for the Horde!_

_Yoyo'd: In your dreams, we'll keep trying but I was the one winning that particular duel. I swear on the Alliance's Honour._

_TheIronSpeaker: Yeah right, I'd forced you to the edge of the cliff, one more step in retreat and you would have fallen into the Un'goro Crater._

_Yoyo'd: I was fine with my footing, that close to the edge I had solid stone under my feet rather than sand. The cliff behind me meant I didn't have to worry about sneak attacks._

_Yoyo'd: You were the one gasping like you were on your last legs._

_BTHead: Hey guys? Hello? No Empire at all this loop, focus on that for a moment._

_MamaBear: Boys, you can arrange to destroy the local area at a different time. For now focus._

_TheIronSpeaker: Sorry._

_Yoyo'd: Sorry._

_BTHead: Right, now that's sorted, how is everyone finding the new twist in this loop. Everyone ok?_

_TheIronSpeaker: Standing on a free and beautiful Lasan, everything is great!_

_MamaBear: I never met Chopper or left Ryloth to become a pilot which is bad but my mother is still alive so that's good._

_Yoyo'd: I'm on Coruscant working as a Senate Commando._

_BTHead: And I'm at home on Lothal, my parents are fine, they're having a meal with Tseebo right now. Anyone know what triggered the change in this loop? It was like this when I Woke, I'm assuming it wasn't any of you._

_TheIronSpeaker: Nope, was like this when I Woke._

_MamaBear: Same here._

_Yoyo'd: I might have an idea. The first thing I checked on when I Woke and realized the situation was to check on Palpatine. With my current clearance I was able to confirm his arrest years ago by members of the Senate Guard and Jedi, I wasn't able to get any explicit details. Ezra or Loki would probably be able to get more._

_BTHead: Palpatine was arrested!? How did that happen?_

_Yoyo'd: I don't know, I don't have clearance to access those files._

_TheIronSpeaker: Does it really matter? The Empire never existed here, the only negative thing is there are no bucketheads for me to pound on, so vacation loop?_

_BTHead: It's fine by me but I would like to see you guys if only for a little bit. The only problem is that I can't just take off, my parents aren't going to want me to jet across half the galaxy._

_MamaBear: I don't mind dropping in. I mean I love spending time with my mother but I need to get into the air. I'll track down the Ghost. I'll probably visit Lothal soon after that._

_TheIronSpeaker: Same here. I don't mind leaving Lasan for a short trip as long as it's there to return to._

_Yoyo'd: The work they have me doing isn't so bad, so I don't mind sticking around. Some of the missions do require travel however, selecting a low priority mission that puts me in the same sector should give me plenty of time to drop by._

_TheIronSpeaker: Make sure you confirm the dates of your arrival Yoyo. I want that rematch, there's a crater on Lothal with your name on it._

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ezra sat in the lounge of the Ghost alongside Hera and Yoyo. Hera and Yoyo had managed to arrive on Lothal at similar times, Zeb hadn't reached the planet yet but judging from his last message he was at most a day or two away.

"So you think you figured what was different about this loop?" Ezra asked Yoyo.

"I was able to find my way through the records and came up with a passable image. It helped that I could identify the pivot point that paved the way." Yoyo lifted his feet to rest them on the low table, however catching Hera's eye on him decided to place them back on the ground and shuffled himself further back on the sofa. He coughed. "The Jedi Council has a slightly different roster this loop. While Yoda is still the Grand Master, the Master of the Order for the last couple of decades wasn't Jedi Master Windu instead it was a Jedi Master Tiure.

"I don't recognize the name. How about you Ezra?"

"I don't recall meeting a Jedi of that name before, I assume they're a replacement."

"Oh no, the guy's a local all right. He just not usually a Jedi." Yoyo leant back in his seat. He wanted to make sure he had a good view of both their faces when he dropped this bombshell on them. "You'll recognize his full name, Jabba Desilijic Tiure."

"You don't mean..." "It can't be..." Ezra and Hera spoke concurrently. Looking at their faces Yoyo wished he had a camera but thought he could borrow a pensieve the next time he passed through Hogwarts.

Hera recovered the quickest. "A Hutt is a Jedi!? And on the Jedi High Council itself!?"

"Forget a Hutt being a Jedi, there have been ones in the past." Ezra countered. "Are you seriously telling me that Jabba is a Jedi Master and the elected head of the Jedi High Council this loop!?"

"Yep. Apparently he and Yoda are on quite good terms." Yoyo drawled enjoying their reaction. "Apparently Jabba was scouted when he still young. Once he'd advanced enough in the Order he took control over Agri-Corp and its subsidiaries and managed to improve upon their practices. The profit gained was poured into acquiring other businesses and the pattern repeated. By now Jabba has managed to gain authority over a large area of industry."

"How has he managed to create such a business empire, the Jedi Code should prevent that." Hera pointed out.

"That's the beauty of it," Yoyo explained, "he doesn't use the profits for personal or material gain, they're either poured back into the companies or into public works; improving living conditions, education, healthcare, communications. The Republic is profiteering from his accomplishments, it's never been in a better economic state."

"Ok Jabba is a Jedi, Jabba is a Jedi with his own business empire, how does that relate to Palpatine getting arrested?" Ezra asked.

"Because one of the most important things in business is where the money flows and when the money started flowing around the growing Seperatist movement Jabba took notice and tracked down the individual behind it."

Ezra absorbed that information. "So you're telling me, Jabba being a Jedi saved the Republic."

Yoyo thought for a moment before replying. "In this case, yes."

* * *

**32.6     [Not Bucketheads]** (numair2304)

"What sort of strange creature are you?" A voice called out. "Are you a troll?"

Zeb halted his trek when someone called out to him. When he'd Awoken in the nearby woods he started heading towards the first sign of civilization, a small walled village he could see through gaps in the trees. It seemed it was time to meet the locals, he turned to see who was addressing him.

A diminutive figure stood there with a winged helmet atop his head, a short sword at this side. Noting the blade's worn condition he examined the figure closer. The way the man held himself, the look in his eyes, Zeb recognized an experienced warrior when he saw one.

"I'm no troll." Zeb replied." Name's Zeb and I'm an Lasat. Might I ask where are I am? I have been travelling a long time and have never been to these lands before."

The small warrior studied Zeb and seeing something he approved of started to explain about the local area.

The two warriors continued to exchange words for a while longer until their conversation was halted by the sound of a trumpet filling the air. On a distant plain Zeb could see movement and light glinting off helemets as troops marched on the village.

"Looks like they've decided to try again. Judging from the numbers they've emptied out the camps." The warrior said unconcerned. "I tell the others and we'll drive them back."

"So it's you and your small village standing your ground against an Empire." Zeb murmured to himself as he stared out at the assembled troops and his eyes developed a predatory stare. "Would you mind if I lent a hand?"

"I don't see why not, the more the merrier." The warrior said with a grin.

"Thanks, while you get the others I'll get a head start." Zeb cracked his knuckles. "They may not be bucketheads but they're close enough."

The blonde warrior looked at Zeb again considering.

"Don't you want some magic potion? Our druid brews it up a treat. Gives you super human strength temporarily."

Zeb grinned toothily. "Nah don't need it." He punched a fist into an open palm. "These are good enough for me. By the way I never asked your name."

"It's Asterix." Asterix said turning towards the village. "Good to meet you."

"Same here." Zeb replied, striding toward the arrayed troops with a smile on his face.

Asterix hesitated at the entrance to the village to watch the lasat engage with the frontline. He whistled as the Lasat's blows sent the closest Romans flying. "Not bad at all, by Toutatis! Looks like me and Obelix has some decent competition." Asterix moved to invite the rest of the village to the fun.

On the field of battle the Centurion currently in charge of the combined legionnaires from the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium felt like crying as he watched the disciplined troops break their formations. He hadn't expected a victory not after so many defeats but if they didn't try, Caesar would be displeased. If Caesar was displeased it increased the likelihood of being thrown to the lions. It was bad enough that every fight left them routed and black and blue all over but now some new unknown being was devastating their troops and the Gauls hadn't even launched their own assault yet.

"CHARGE!!" Came a mighty roar and from the village poured the usual Gaulish villagers.

"Venimus, vidimus vict" The Centurion swore. "By all the gods, this just isn't fair."

* * *

**32.7     [Maketh Education]** (numair2304)

"You know all of this is unnecessary. All we want is the rebels location."

Silence was the only reply, not out of defiance but from mental and physical exhaustion. It didn't matter anyway they had no answer to give and no amounts of pleads, sobs and denials stopped would convince the torture to stop.

A heavy sigh.

"This refusal to answer does not help your position. Again."

Searing agony ripped a scream from a raw throat, limbs straining against the restraints desperate for release. It was futile.

"M..t..."

There was no escape

"Ma...h...ke u..."

There would be no rescue

"YOU...VING A NIGH....RE, YOU'RE ...FE!"

This would continue until she broke and told them all she knew; but she had already broken and had nothing to offer so all she could do was scream.

"WAKE UP!!"

Screaming Maketh fought her way out of the restraints and threw herself off the table. The ease of her escape shocked her but her slight rise of hope was stifled when someone caught her and wrapped their arms around her. She flinched, expecting more pain but as the moments passed came the realization that nothing else was happening and the pain from before had gone.

The absence of any other action allowed the racing pulse to slow and the fever pitch of her thoughts to cool. In the dim light she could see that the walls were not that of an Imperial Cell, instead they were of one of the Ghost's bunk rooms, the bunk of which she realized that she thrown herself off in the grips of a nightmare.

So who was holding her. Turning her attention to the figure holding her, Maketh noticed first the green skin and registered that it was Hera holding her gently, her face filled with tender-hearted care. Embarrassed by the situation Maketh feebly struggled to escape Hera's arms and tried to regain her composure sucking in her breath every few seconds.

Hera, sustaining her caring hug, whispered to her. "For what you've been through you don't need to ashamed or embarrassed by your reactions. Everyone here has their own nightmares and has lived through them at times. It's ok to be weak and helpless because sometimes that all we are."

Maketh despite her reservations could feel herself relaxing into the embrace, wanting to be comforted like the child she used to be long ago. Feeling wetness trailing down her cheeks, she moved to brush the tears away but Hera stopped her.

"You can cry if you want to. Your tears mean you feel deeply. And that's a good thing." Hera explained.

Hearing Hera's compassionate tone Maketh let go of the tenuous hold she had left over her emotions and the tears streamed down her face.

"Cry as long as you need to."

Maketh cried.

She wept for her loss of innocence.

She wailed about the memory of pain.

She sobbed how it felt when death approached.

She continued to shed tears until exhaustion hit and still being held in Hera's embrace drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

In the quiet room Hera waited calmly until the deep breathing confirmed that Maketh was asleep. Moving slowly so as to not awaken the sleeping woman, Hera gently lifted Maketh back into the bunk and covered her with the sheet. Moving silently Hera exited the room, shutting the door behind her.

"So that bad huh. Not the best introduction to this madhouse of loopers." Sabine said with a frown, leaning against the corridor wall nearby.

Blinking wet eyes in surprise Hera asked a question that she realised had an obvious answer. "Sabine you're Awake?"

"Yep, Woke up a few hours ago. Ezra gave me a quick rundown of the sitch."

"I'm glad to see you. Where have the others got to?"

"Ezra's running distraction on Kanan at the moment, he's the only one not Awake, well neither is Chopper but Ezra had Loki fill him in. As for the other two, Zeb wants to punch something and Yoyo feels like getting punched so they're off sparring at the moment."

Hera gave a sad smile. "We can't solve all our problems by punching them."

"Zeb would disagree." Sabine refuted.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yoyo and Chopper listed off their preparations.

"First Aid kit, protein bars, bottled water, tent, rope, matches, sleeping bag, mirror,"

["towel, chocolate bars in case of Dementor exposure, new pants,"]

"duct tape, backup First Aid kit, walkie talkies, batteries, flashlight, Leatherman, seasonal clothing,"

["megaphone, string, glitter,"]

"hiking boots, clipboard, notebook, pens, water purifier tablets, plastic sheeting, glow sticks,"

["graphing calculator, maths textbook, book of Sudoku puzzles,"]

"non-perishable foodstuffs, survival knife, emergency First Aid kit, snakebite kit, hammer, crowbar, waterproof matches,"

["electric razor, instant curry, twine,"]

"collapsible bottle, life raft, parachute, flint and steel, bandages, machete, heatpads,"

["peanut butter, sombrero, brandy,"]

"trowel, spade, thermos, flaregun,, backup emergency First Aid kit, blaster,"

["edible glitter, distillery, corn kernels,"]

"Corn kernels?" Ezra gave the duo a questioning look.

Yoyo answered the look. "Chopper swears on Pinkie's rubber chicken that they distract cucco swarms."

Chopper gave an affirmative whistle, waving his arm.

They started to list items again when Ezra interrupted them, holding his hand in a stop motion while the other kneaded the top of his nose.

"Let me get this straight, you," he pointed to Yoyo, "decided to prepare supplies for Maketh to help with her next loop and you, "this time pointing to Chopper, "offered to help to help him with that."

["Yep!"] Chopper whistled while Yoyo nodded.

Ezra stared at Chopper for a moment. This was the Chopper that been brought up to speed by Loki, he had full access to the memory files of his Awake counterpart but he hadn't lived through them, hadn't experienced them directly. The items that Chopper suggested sounded to the sane individual to be nonessential and, to not put a blunt point on it, crazy to include. There was a fifty percent chance that the items suggested were something of a prank to the mechanical imp, the problem was that with the insanity that was the loops such items could prove helpful, besides Ezra thought ruefully if it was his Awake self it would be closer to ninety percent.

To be honest though the idea that Chopper might be messing around with his suggestions wasn't the real problem. Ezra looked at the pile of items they'd procured so far, a pile he noted that was starting to match the Ghost in sheer size. Chopper he thought might be playing a slight prank with the sheer quantity of supplies but Yoyo looked completely serious about the situation. Ezra sighed, the man was not working at his best in his depressed state.

"Uhh. You guys have the right idea. I agree that giving her some support for next few loops is a good idea, but you guys seem to be missing an obvious fact. She's a newly activated looper, only been given the multiverse talk this loop. Even if you were right and all of that was necessary." Ezra gestured towards the pile. Yoyo looked at the pile then looked back at Ezra with an uncomprehending look in his eyes, Chopper just warbled. "There's just too much, she's not going to be able to carry all that, we haven't even discussed the mechanics of the Pocket to her yet. She'll be lucky to be able to hold a single storage crate by the time the loop ends."

Yoyo looked at the pile again and appeared to register the scale of what they'd collected.

"We have gone a bit overboard with it." he said sheepishly.

"You just wanted to help." Ezra said consolingly. "Too much preparation is better than too little. Just try to condense the essentials down to fit in here." He held up a basic backpack. "We'll go over the list as a group to figure out the best balance. Oh and keep the towel as part of the kit but make sure it has plenty of tensile strength."

Meeting Arthur Dent that one time had been an experience.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maketh lay on a rock in the prairie, gasping slightly as her body recovered from her latest efforts.

Soon after she had felt up to wandering around outside her bunk room Sabine had started her on a daily workout to prepare her for the future. Scared at first, she had protested against the training, she didn't want to get involved in fights. Hera had taken her to the side and explained that they weren't going to be teaching her to fight, they were going to be teaching her how to avoid fighting, to break away and escape.

After being a captive before Maketh was determined to never be one again and threw herself into the training, using it as a distraction from everything. Now resting from the last set of exeercises, the cold of the rock beneath her and the warm sun shining creating a pleasant contrast, Maketh couldn't stop her mind reflecting on how much her life had changed in so little time.

When she'd been young her future had seemed set, she'd graduated from the Imperial Academy as a level-five student and after joining the Imperial Government she'd returned to her homeworld of Lothal as a Minister and had started to use her position to aid in improving living conditions and livelihood. Things had started to change for the worse soon after however. In response to the Rebels actions the Empire started enforcing stricter, harsher rules and regulations on the people of Lothal, looking back on it now she could see that the restrictions had already been gradually increasing, the rebels presence had just accelerated the process. She been increasing caught off guard by the changes, the truth of the cruelty of the ruling regime escaping her until the end when it was too late. Used as bait and sacrificed by the Empire she'd served faithfully since the Academy.

Waking up alive again after feeling the explosion wrap around her body had seemed like a miracle. In her joy of being alive however, she'd hadn't been careful in who she talked to and drew the attention of the darker side of the Empire. As a prisoner and a supposed source of information abut the growing rebel threat she experienced another side of the Empire, the pain she was put through only brought to an end when one of her interrogators pushed too hard for answers. The peace of her approaching death had been shattered when she woke once more in her office on Lothal with one of her interrogators in front of her.

Breaking down in her office before Agent Kallus and being rendered unconsious by the man, she had truly believed that she would find herself stuck in the same small cell again. It was an understatement to say she'd been surprised when she woke up and found that Kallus, instead of handing her over to the Empire's care, had personally delivered her to the rebels. Rebels he was on good terms with, rebels that took her under their protection and promised to explain.

Now she seemed to be safe, the rebels were kind and supportive. Even the fear of Agent Kallus, whom the rebels called Yoyo, had lessened as the time passed with the crew brought on by the fact that he seemed to be just as scared of her. Whenever she entered the same room as him, he was quick to hurriedly vacate the area. On one occasion she managed to catch a glimpse of his face and the haunted look featured there was familiar to her, it was the same look that she saw at times in the mirror.

Her control over her life was gone, now she was just... she wasn't sure who she was any more. The idealist she had been before had been stripped away by her experiences. She had been Minister Tua, a civilian authority on Lothal, a piece in a brutal galactic game she had no experience of playing. Then she had been Prisoner 3488, her former position in the government useless as protection, while she was constantly interrogated for information she didn't have.

Now... who exactly was she... maybe... maybe in these repeats, these loops she could be simply Maketh. Time loops... that was the thing she having the most trouble getting her head around, loopers, other universes, the entire multiverse set on repeat with the beings who ran it still scrambling for a solution. The concept scared her, the explanation about them hadn't helped matters.

*flashback*

"Now, events where elements, people, or entire settings and histories from other worlds are interjected into your own are called Fused Loops. Additionally, some loops will have an alternate history to your original, these are Variant Loops. There are also loops where you're out of loop powers are sealed, as is your subspace pocket, these are Null Loops." Zeb smiled at Maketh. "And that's your 'Welcome to the Multiverse' speech. Any questions?"

Maketh had lots of questions, but one she wanted to know was why? Why was a looper? Why were loopers needed?

"You mentioned that the Anchor is always looping and that other people start looping depending on their connection to the Anchor. Why? I mean why are more loopers needed, aren't the Anchors enough?"

Zeb opened his mouth to answer and then closed it again looking undecided, after a moment of introspection he nodded to himself and thus resolved leant a little closer towards Maketh.

"The way I see it, the loopers aren't there to keep the loops stable, they're there to keep the Anchors stable." Zeb grunted and rubbed the back of his neck. "Imagine living the same period of time again and again and only you can remember the repeats. No matter what you do, no matter what happens everything always resets. You can explain it to the people you know, the people you care about and they will either believe you or see enough proof to convince them but the loop will end and you would have to explain again. After enough time even the explanations become repetitive, the same responses and reaction. Think about going through that alone, the only constant in a repeating cycle. Now imagine that continuing through a thousand cycles, a million, a billion, that's what the Original Seven went through. They were alone in their loops, no one explained things to them, they had no knowledge of the multiverse. All they knew was that for them time was looping. Some thought it was something to do with their baseline, others thought that they could fix whatever was happening. Some were luckier than others, the very nature of their lives, their baselines gave them companions. Naruto could easily share his memories with Kurama, the chakra beast sealed inside himself. Ichigo had Zangetsu, parts of his soul given individual form, to help share the burden. I heard that Harry even managed to get along with the fragment of Riddle he had stuck to his forehead."

Zeb saw the incomprehension and worry on Maketh's face.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, "I'm going off on a tangent. Anchors are usually the oldest individuals of their respective loops and usually also the strongest and I don't mean strongest as can beat someone in a fight, I mean strongest as in able to tear a new one in an universe if they went all out. But despite all that strength, Anchors are some of the loneliest people in the multiverse, travelling a lonely road to keep the rest of us safe. Ezra's the Anchor for our loop and if he has to travel constantly in order to protect us, then you can karking believe that we'll keep the idiot company along the way. That's what I think we loopers are for, we provide the Anchors with a constant, something to look forward to through all the lonely loops, something to protect the continuing existence of reality for. A support to make sure the Anchor doesn't spiral into self-destructive depression."

*flashback ends*

"You ready to go again?"

Maketh startled out of her memories looked up into Sabine's smiling face. Her thoughts still winding around her recent memories she blurted out.

"How do you cope with all this, with the loops?"

Sabine froze for a moment, before joining Maketh on her rock. Leaning back and staring at the sky, she said.

"I'll be honest it's not easy. It's hard, it can be painful. Some of the challenges are physical, some mental, some emotional and some..." here Sabine sighed, her voice filling with emotion, "some you can't win no matter what."

Maketh hesitated for a moment hearing the pain in Sabine's voice but asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Can you remember your first time at the Academy, the home you grew up in, your parents, your childhood?" Sabine said, her attention focused on a cloud drifting by.

"Yes." said Maketh unsure where this was going.

"I can't." Sabine stated. "When the loops first started my baseline history was damaged. I can't recall my childhood. I don't know if I had a family or friends. I know I'm Mandalorian and I can recall the rites and passages of a Mandalorian warrior but that's all I remember."

Maketh thought about her parents, about growing up with them and then imagined all those memories disappearing without a trace. The thought turned her stomach.

"How can you stand that?" Maketh said agitatedly to Sabine. 

Sabine gave her sad smile "You learn to cope." Her smile turned mischievous. "Besides I have a dedicated boyfriend who helps to take my mind off it."

Maketh was thrown by the sudden change of topic. "Boyfriend?"

"Yep boyfriend, you've met him, Ezra."

"Boyfriend!? He's your boyfriend but you- but he's-"Maketh spluttered. "I thought the Jedi weren't allowed connections!"

"Oh you heard about those rules," Sabine smirked, "Yeah it's true the Jedi Order preached that emotions, connections were dangerous and foreswore them. It had been a part of their rules for a long time but they missed something important. Someone in the past created those rules, not the Force itself. Who knows maybe they were right when written. But if the Force is a part of life, then it must change as the ebb and flow of life changes. The loops are the same." Sabine said returning to the original thread of the conversation. "They will have their ups and they will have their downs, just like normal life does. The ups and downs will probably be a bit more," Sabine waggled her hands, "extreme. One of the truths of the loops is that all loopers aren't really sane, we can't be after all that we've lived through but we're not worse or better than anyone else is sanity wise. There are some advantages to the loops however, we know that we will see each other again no matter how much time passes. That's better than what some people have."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maketh sat quietly reading in her bunk room. She raised her head when a small knock came and Hera poked her head through the doorway. "When you're free do you mind coming to the lounge, we've something to discuss with you."

Maketh smiled at Hera, during her time with the crew she had really come to like spending time with the motherly Twi'lek. "I'll be along in a moment, I'm just about to finish this chapter."

Hera nodded and withdrew from the room.

Maketh turned her attention back to her book. The book she was reading 'Dying Baseline' was written by several loopers who all had the unfortunate fate of dying in the baseline. The book dealt with the issues they'd encountered living past their baseline death and how to overcome them. Finishing the page she was on, Maketh slipped a bookmark in and closed the book. Book in hand Maketh got up from the bunk and stretched for a moment before placing the book atop a small pile of others.

As part of her education about the loops the crew had given her some books that dealt with various topics involving the loops, the worlds and people they involved. Among the collection were such books as 'Not so Null' written by Violet Baudelaire, 'The Journal of Sunset Shimmer' written by Sunset Shimmer and 'Is It Dangerous? How and When to start Running' co-authored by Rincewind and Death. (She'd asked and Death wasn't someone's name, it was the entity itself.)

Walking out of the room Maketh made her way to the lounge. There she found all the crew assembled barring Kanan who wasn't Awake this loop (Ezra had sent him a Force-package and he was still having trouble coming to terms with it) and including Yoyo hovering the background.

"Take a seat." Ezra said waving at the empty seat.

Maketh took the seat left for her, wondering what was being planned.

Ezra coughed. "As you know for the last few months we been focusing on developing your Pocket more. This has been for a particular reason. We all agreed that we wanted to give you the best chance during your next loop so we prepared a kit for you to take with after the loop ends. Now we can't prepare you for everything out there but we can provide some essentials.

He held up a large backpack. "Here we have the basics, a tent, a sleeping bag, a few changes of clothes, a mirror as a basic signalling tool, a Leatherman, a First Aid kit, a sheet of plastic, a towel, some bottled water and some MRE's."

Maketh was slightly confused by the last item, noting her confused Ezra explained.

"MREs are Meals Ready to Eat, Yoyo picked up some when he passed through the Hub sometime back, we've improved on them slightly, they no longer taste of cardboard."

Handing the bag over the crew watched as Maketh placed it inisde her Pocket.

"Now!" Ezra said with a grin holding up a shoulder bag. "For the more exotic items."

"From me for the ultimate in health care, you have three Senzu tablets. They're originally grown as beans in the Dragonball loops but the resident Anchor managed to process them into pill form without losing their effects. If you take one all your injuries will be healed, your stamina restored and it will keep you fed for ten days. Bulma very kindly gave me these during my time in their loop."

While Ezra had been there Bulma had offered to train him in the ki energy techniques native to that universe but despite Ezra being interested, he had been even more interested in the various technological advances spread around the loop. After discussing it with Bulma she agreed to tutor him in the various technologies and he ended up avoiding any conflict during his time there.

"I ended up never having to use them, it seems right that our newest looper should have them."

Ezra glanced at the rest of the crew who nodded. Chopper rolled forward.

["Loki has volunteered to travel with you to keep you company, with him along you shouldn't have to worry about any digital problems. In case you loop somewhere without any computer tech we've included an omnitool so you will still be able to communicate with him."]

As Chopper moved back Sabine started talking.

"There's also a Starfleet issue tricorder and a type 2 phaser inside. I'll be giving you training with the phaser later this week." Sabine held up a hand to forestall Maketh's protests. "I know that you don't want to fight but we don't want you completely unarmed. It's actually pretty versatile as a tool, it has multiple settings. Set to one you can cut through metal, set it to another and you can start a fire. The setting I'll be giving the most training on however will the stun setting, which does exactly as it says. Most humanoid sentients will be rendered unconscious for several hours by a direct hit though the hardier built ones like Wookies would probably need more than one hit. Even if you have to fire it at point blank range the only damage received by the target should be some light burns. The tricorder is a great tool for scanning the surroundings, it's able to locate safe sources of food and water, and identify any environmental dangers. We've programmed in as much data about existing loops that we can."

"Speaking of environmental dangers." Hera added. "As added protection against them, there's a Level 10 Hazmat life-support suit stored. The suit offers protection against the basics radiation, temperature extremes and the life-support is able to function in space or underwater. The device will form a protective suit over you when deployed."

"We think there should be enough room for your books but if you can't fit them, tell one of us and we'll hold on to them for you until we see each other again. There are also digital copies of them loaded on the omnitool as backup." Zeb said with a grin.

Ezra spoke up. "Remember if you Wake up in our loop, check your memories they should tell if you're dealing with baseline or a variant. Yoyo prepared some basic information on Imperial procedures and suggestions on how to circumvent them. If you want to just get away for a bit, the tower would be your best bet for a safe house close by. "

Ezra handed over the shoulder bag and Maketh grasped it lightly. She considered all the efforts the crew gone through to make her feel safer.

"Thank you." Maketh whispered, tears in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 32.1: I had the idea of giving the Hulk a ring a while ago but I couldn't think of a scenario that would require it. Then I read a nice little story 'Dalek Lantern' about a Dalek ending up in the marvel verse when it tried to self destruct and receiving a Red Power Ring. 
> 
> 32.2: Reread 'This Bites' and the afro scene in the Davy Back Fight and this just got stuck in my head.
> 
> 32.3: Started playing Monster Hunter World and the moment I saw this critter I thought it would be an awesome mount.
> 
> 32.4: Been on my idea pile for a while and finally finished it.
> 
> 32.5: This idea came to me when I became curious about exactly which races have become part of the Jedi Order. I was surprised that there was actually a Hutt who achieved the rank of Jedi Knight by the name Beldorian. After finding that out I wondered what might of happened if the most infamous Hutt of all had been a potential Jedi.
> 
> 32.6: This story somehow evolved from Zeb beating up the joopa in Lost Commanders while in a bad mood from his last loop to this. Part of me still isn't quite sure how it happened.
> 
> "Venimus, vidimus victi.": We came, We saw, we were defeated.
> 
> 32.7: I really hope that people enjoy this sketch. I had a rough idea of how this would go for a long time but was unable to get anything to paper, then I managed to get the beginning written and the rest started to flow 
> 
> I want to say thank you to my G&S group as they gave me some good ideas for items in the survival kit.


	33. TCAoaTTP 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maketh Education Aftermath / Brothers of the Broken Horn, The WhiteBoard, IMC Hangar, Hot Hot Hot, Musical Mayhem, The Ravine

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

33.1     [ **Maketh Education Aftermath / Brothers of the Broken Horn]** (numair2304)

Loopers get used to the status quo, things can seem predictable and then something makes a change, it could be for the better, it could be for the worse. A new looper getting tortured without anyone Awake catching on, that would be categorized as for the latter

Different people have different methods for dealing with things outside their control.

Some get angry, turning that anger inwards on their perceived mistakes or outwards on those deemed responsible.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine stumbled slightly from the Fifth Brother's push as she Awoke.

"Once we have the others, we'll dispose of them both." The Seventh Sister said as she led the way down the corridor.

Waking up a captive of the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother with Ezra beside her in cuffs wasn't going to leave Sabine in the best of moods to begin with but combined with how she was already feeling made her temper explode. The Inquisitors tensed, reaching for their weapons as the Force shifted around the quartet.

"I'M SO.."

The Fifth Brother felt himself leave the ground as a left backhand sent the man flying backwards, hitting the floor he gasped in pain at power behind the hit. Not slowing down Sabine spun with her blow and charged towards the Seventh Sister passing a dumbstruck Ezra.

"NOT IN..."

The Seventh Sister having lit her blade in time swept it towards Sabine. Bending backwards Sabine observed the red blade pass over her face before her hand reached out and grabbed a firm hold of the lightsaber wielding arm's wrist. Twisting the woman's wrist and jabbing at the held arm with her free hand, Sabine forced the woman to drop her blade.

"THE MOOD..."

The Seventh Sister was unable to hide a wince of pain as her lightsaber fell from her listless fingers and distracted the woman didn't feel Sabine relieve her of Ezra's stolen blade. The pain the Seventh Sister had on display increased as a frontal blow from Sabine sent the woman reeling backwards.

"FOR THIS!"

With both Inquisitors on the ground for a moment, stunned by the sudden change in their captive, Sabine had a moment's respite. She lifted her hands, reaching out with the Force towards the Inquisitors lightsabers. Delicately Sabine wove her presence into the structure and located what she wanted. Sabine's hands twisted, crushing into fists, focusing her intentions. That accomplished Sabine turned her attention to a staring Ezra.

"Ezra leave!" Sabine said firmly, handing over the boy's lightsaber.

"But-but- Sabine..." Ezra stuttered, completely confused by what was going on.

"Now Ezra!" Sabine stated, her face softening slightly at Ezra's look of confusion. "I'll be fine. Trust me."

Ezra hesitated for a moment before nodding acquiescent and running off down the corridor towards the hangar, passing the Seventh Sister as she unsteadily rose to her feet.

Behind Sabine the Fifth Brother had risen back to his feet and with a growl withdrew his blade. When the man tried to ignite the blade however, all that occurred was some sparking and nothing else. The Seventh Sister found herself having the same problem when she tried her blade. 

Sabine couldn't help the curl of a smile as she observed the growing looks of frustration on the Inquisitors faces. While she couldn't do anything large scale with the Force, small things she could now with enough focus, in this case damage the lightsabers internal workings. On the surface both Inquisitors lightsabers seemed perfectly fine, undamaged, but inside of them the focusing arrays were crushed. To repair would require either a complete disassemble and replacement of parts or an incredible of fine-tuned control over the Force to undo the damage; very unlikely from the two Inquisitors.

Withdrawing and dropping a seal on the ground from her Pocket, Sabine placed a foot upon it channeling chakra. With the infusion of chakra a white barrier grew surrounding her and the two Inquisitors, now there was no escape for them. The Seventh Sister tried to push through and found it impassable. The barrier would drop only when Sabine chose.  

"No way in, no way out. no running away. No weapons, just bare hands." Sabine stated to the frustrated pair, shifting into a taijutsu stance, preparing to use Snake Wild. Having Anko usually as an elder sister in Naruto made it a favorite style of Sabine's.

Fifth Brother snarled and moved towards Sabine having no problem with those rules, his rage fuelling his actions. Seventh Sister held back, cautious about the abilities Sabine had sudden demonstrated. Sabine tensed her leg and launched her first assault. Sabine was annoyed, right now wanted to hit something and grinning as her fist slammed into Fifth's cheek considered it lucky that there were two guilt free targets right in front of her.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Inside Hogwart's Hospital Wing Headmaster Dumbledore was forced to halt his retreat as he found his path blocked by a very sturdy wall. Looking round with worried eyes he could see no easy escape from the threat bearing down on him. Nevertheless he attempted to stave off the attack.

"Madam, I assure you that adequate precautions were taken to ensure the children's safety-" Dumbledore was interrupted.

"Are these the same precautions that failed to prevent a troll entering the castle earlier this year or have they been put in place since then!? This is a school for children, they should be able to walk safely through these halls, not risk injury or death!" The school Matron's announced advancing on the headmaster's position.

Dumbledore attempted to rally.

"The troll was an unusual occurrence I admit but the children's recent escapade was due to them trespassing into an area that had been declared off limits." Dumbledore asserted, ignoring the fact that he'd secretly wanted at least one of these particular children to explore that area. Seeing the woman pause for a moment listening to his words he pushed on. "The third floor corridor was declared off limits. In fact I informed the entire school that that particular area was off limits, the children shouldn't have been in that area at all." Dumbledore sighed in affected weariness. "But alas children will get into places despite warnings to the contrary."

Unfortunately for Dumbledore, his words didn't calm the situation but instead appeared to stoke the flames.

"And knowing that you gave them motivation to explore a forbidden area! I remember the speech you gave during the Sorting Banquet, you declared the area 'out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death'." At the confusion apparent on Dumbledore's confusion, the woman explained in exasperation. "The troublemakers in the school would take that as a certified challenge, I'm amazed that the Weasley twins didn't end up occupying beds in here on the same day as your speech. And I dread to think how many people were curious and inquisitive about what exactly was occurring in that location."

Sitting beside Harry, on one of the empty beds, Hermione whispered. "Shouldn't we tell her that we're both Awake?"

Harry whispered back. "Nah, this is fun to watch. Popcorn?" Offering her a bag.

Considering for a second Hermione shrugged and took a handful. "Thanks."

They both watched as the looping replacement for Madame Pomfrey, a Madame Hera Syndulla, continued haranguing Dumbledore

"You do not set a dangerous trap inside a school of impressionable young people, inform the entire building of its location and then warn off trespass using terminology that many would treat as a challenge!!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Some get depressed. Understanding that life isn't fair and no matter what you do things will go wrong.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan lay on his bunk listlessly, thinking back on his previous loop. There was a whistle from the doorway and turning Kanan spotted his Awake partner for this loop, Chopper. He'd informed the looping droid of the new looper and their circumstances. Chopper had acted like the news was nothing big on first disclosure but since then Kanan noticed that the droids antics on board had reduced slightly. Chopper seemed to moping a bit and, if Zeb and Ezra's curious eyes on the droid meant anything, the crew were noticing. In his own case Kanan kept catching Hera observing him with worried eyes, he fully expected her to start questioning him about what was wrong soon.

Chopper silently wheeled into the room and came to a halt remaining silent. The two remained quiet with their own thoughts until Kanan broke the growing silence

"You know what this calls for." Kanan announced to the silent room.

["WHAT?"] Chopper whistled in reply.

"Fallback on the usual coping strategy." Kanan explained as if it was obvious.

["PRANKS?"] If Chopper could grin, he would have done.

"Yeah pranks. The two of us hardly work together on them, might as well give it a try. The only question now is who, the Imperials or the crew." Kanan mused, considering targets.

["WHY NOT BOTH?"] Chopper suggested cheerfully, wheeling back and forth in slight jerks.

"Why not indeed." Kanan agreed after a moment's consideration.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Some are both.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Inside a recently formed crater two fighters took a moment to catch their breath.

"So," Zeb panted, "do you want to talk about it or should I beat you down again."

"I should have noticed!" Yoyo asserted, leaning against his weapon.

"Firstly you weren't there, it's possible none of us was." Zeb argued, straightening up. "Secondly no one tasked you to watch for new loopers, heck none of us look out for that." Zeb paused for a moment in consideration. Seeing Yoyo's questioning look at his contemplation , Zeb explained his thoughts. "Most of us are on the same crew, we live in close proximity on the same ship for the loop. When someone in the Spectres Woke for the first time there was likely to be a member of the Awake crew around them. The only exception in this before Maketh was you." Zeb stated to Yoyo, reflecting on the man's Awakening. "We didn't have a clue you were Awake, you were the one who reached out to us, something you were able to accomplish thanks to remembering Ezra's contact details from your first loop. Without that particular information you might have ended up in a similar boat to Maketh and we wouldn't have known. If Agent Kallus disappeared, any Awake members of the crew would have probably considered it a Variant loop."

Yoyo started to refute Zeb's idea then paused. He wanted to deny Zeb's idea but the harsh truth was that upon his awakening as a looper he had used all his self control to calmly move himself to his private quarters whereupon he collapsed, struggling to come to grips with the new reality. His first memories iteration, thanks to Ezra and Zeb's machinations, had turned against the Empire and fought to defend the planet Lasan and its inhabitants. He'd died in one of the clashes and then found himself alive, unharmed inside his office in Lothal's Imperial Complex but with memories of a very different timeline on Lasan. This second timeline he wasn't a rebel, Ezra and Zeb hadn't met him on Lasan instead he'd been a willing member in the campaign against the Lasats that resulted in the devastation of Lasan and the near extinction of the Lasats. Trying to incorporate the two different and contrasting sets of loop memories, trying to settle his reeling mind in desperation Yoyo reached out to Ezra through the HoloNet and thankfully Ezra answered. What might of happened to him if he hadn't remembered the contact, if no one answered, if he had been alone trying to establish his identity under the Empire's rule. It wouldn't have ended well. He had been lucky, Maketh hadn't.

"It's not fair, she didn't deserve any of this." Yoyo muttered sullenly.

"Life isn't bliss, life is just this, it's living." Zeb quoted with a slight cadence to the words. Yoyo gave him a questioning look and Zeb explained. "Quote from a, at the time, nonlooper which was a pity really as the guy was skilled with the fisticuffs and pretty good in a scrap, even took the time to teach me a bit of Fyarl lanuage and... I'm going off topic. Anyway he blurted that out during a cursed musical period and it just resonated. Life isn't fair. Everyone on this crew, and I'm including you in that," Zeb stated pointing to Yoyo, "you might not be a visible crewmember but you're definitely a member of the Spectres. Everyone on this crew has suffered at some point and somehow, we might even be due more in the future but knowing that we can watch out for each other and try and help. Right now Maketh is the one who needs the most help and out of all of us." Yoyo's heart sank a little as he guessed where Zeb was going. " You realize someone needs to teach her how to deal with Empire-"

"Any of the Spectres could-"  Yoyo interjected.

"-from the inside," Zeb continued without pause, "None of us aboard the Ghost don't really have a lot of experience with that, we know enough to run operations that run parallel in opposition to the Empire but that only brings us close enough to function in the short term not the long term. We could organize a routine to expedite her removal from the Imperial administration but we won't always be there. Eventually Maketh needs to learn to deal with the Empire on her own especially now that she can see and has experienced its crueler side. Hiding the extent of her knowledge, perceiving how people view her, judging when it's necessary to do a vanishing act. Those are the skills she needs to learn the most and out of all of us local loopers you are the one with the most experience of that. You have to be her teacher in this."

Yoyo understood Zeb's reasoning, he had worked it out for himself earlier and agreed with it. And yet part of him paused to accept the idea. He tried to voice his reasons about his reluctance.

"I know. I know already but it's just... just...it's so hard. I thought I had come to grips with who I was, that I had come to terms with being both Yoyo and Agent Kallus. And then... and then a new looper Wakes and her first reaction to me is mind numbing terror. And I know its selfish after everything she's been through but it just tears at me, her reactions, her fear, the way she flinches slightly when I enter the room." Yoyo spoke quickly, trying to verbalize his mental hiccup.

"So do you." Zeb bluntly pointed out. "You blame yourself for something this you didn't do. And what if she flinches while dealing with an unAwake you?"

Yoyo grimaced, considering the likely outcome.

"I'll do it." Yoyo declared, wrenching his feelings of guilt and misgivings down, solidifying his resolve. "But from now on we, all of us, need to keep track of potential loopers to try and prevent this from happening again."

"I'm not sure if that's a likely scenario." Zeb contemplated, scratching the back of his head as he thought about likely candiates. "I mean most of the potentials I can think of are a part of the resistance."

"There were those two kids that Ezra befriended in the Training facility," Yoyo pointed out, "and wasn't Tseebo a family friend. Maketh Waking was a surprise to all of us, it was likely thanks to us trying to protect her in the loops somewhat that enough connections were made." Yoyo remarked bitterly.

"We're going to have to make a list." Zeb moaned, reflecting on the numbers of people the crew interacted with. If the strength of connections, both the positive and the negative, increased the probability of Awakening even if new loopers were rare. The sheer quantity of pranks that Chopper pulled on the Empire meant there was even a decent chance that their next candiate could be someone like the Inquisitor or Tarkin. Zeb shuddered at the horrifying thought, stuck with an Awake Tarkin in the loops.

The mood was pensive and both men were silent.

Zeb slapped his hands together, the noise sounding like a thunderclap in the silence.

"Right that's enough feelings." Zeb stated firmly. "Time for the next round, and since it's my turn to choose the weapon, this time we're wielding these." Withdrawing a Klingon bat'leth from his Pocket, Zeb took a stance opposing Yoyo.

"qa' wlje'meHmaSuv!" Zeb snarled, his grin bright in contrast to the harsh syllables.

"nltebQobqaDjup 'e' chaw'be' Suvml'!" Yoyo replied with a wistful smile, drawing his own bat'leth.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Let's all relax. I take the generators. You two split Azmorigan's credits. Everyone wins." Ezra proposed before blinking slightly as he Woke.

Quickly he processed his situation. Standing in the cockpit of the Broken Horn, strange. Standing in said cockpit alongside Cikatro Vizago and Hondo Ohnaka, even stranger. His unAwake self trying to suggest a balanced beneficial deal for all parties, what was he smoking?

"That is a fair deal. Hmm?" Ohnaka mused as if considering the idea. The idea was then torpedoed as Ohnaka's face twisted into a grimace. "And it disgusts me."

Ezra noted that diplomacy was breaking down but kept his main focus internal, reviewing his recent memories. There was a brief flicker of amusement as Ezra considered how Lando would react to him pretending to be Lando but that flicker was quickly overwhelmed by the sinking feeling in his chest

"For once, I agree." Vizago affirmed. Raising his hand, he pressed the button of the controller held within. "Care to hear my counter-offer?"

Ezra's mind ran. A new expansion, new things to inform and warn his friends about and all of it right at this moment felt unimportant and meaningless. Waking up this late in this loop meant that there was nothing he could change. It was too late in the loop, Maketh wouldn't be Awake as Minister Tua was dead. He had been hoping as the Anchor he would run across Maketh the fastest out of all the Rebels loopers but after twenty seven loops he still hadn't encountered her. The only good thing was that one of those loops was in Equestria and he'd informed Twilight about Maketh, asking her to pass the message along about the new looper.

The two robots within the cockpit activated with a jerk and were joined by a third entering through the door.

Ezra snarled in impotent fury. All the power at his disposal and he was still so powerless in so many ways, unable to reach one person. Switching focus, he turned his attention to the drama around him, he could play along but right now he wasn't in the mood.

Ezra flexed his fingers and there was screech of twisting, tortured metal as the robots crumpled and compressed into a lump half their size. The door of the cockpit slamming shut under Force pressure as an afterthought.

Glaring at the two now pale faced smugglers Ezra suggested a new idea. "Now that you've made your counteroffers here's mine, accept the original deal or else."

Ohnaka and Vizago were veterans of their particular expertise. They had survived the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire but the sheer pressure of that glare, the weight they could feel on their backs, the threat that was implied. Their instincts honed over the many years of skirting on the edge screamed at them to surrender and pray for mercy.

"Working together sounds like a great idea!" Ohnaka was the first to offer his complete agreement with Ezra's demand. The nervous smile on Ohnaka's face a complement to the sweat on his brow as he tried to understand how his former young partner had suddenly became so scary.

"Yeah, couldn't have put it better myself!" Vizago affirmed, his own nervous smile plastered in place.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Maketh opened her eyes. There was no office, no Imperial Complex, no Capital City, she wasn't on Lothal. Instead she found herself amongst colourful medieval style buildings.

"Hi there!" A loud cheerful voice chirped from behind her. "Whatcha doin'?"

Maketh buckled down on her flight instinct, failed to curb it and hit the ground hard as she found herself with more legs than she was expecting. Her head spinning slightly, Maketh stared at one of the limbs stretched before her. Were those hooves?

"Oh sorry!" The voice came again, softer, slightly apologetic. The voice's owner moved in front of Maketh and looking up Maketh could see the pink pony standing over her. "First outside loop? Looking for an anchor?"

Maketh just dully nodded.

"Okie-dokie-lokie." The pink pony enthusiastically expressed. "Don't you worry about a thing, your Auntie Pinkie Pie here will take care of everything. I'll call Twilight."

The pink pony held a hoof up to its head. There was a ringing sound and then a click.

"Hi Twilight, we've got ourselves a new looper in town and, boy, is she a bit jumpy." Pinkie uttered into her hoof.

"Pinkie Pie, is that... where are...how are you talking to me!?" Another voice came out of the air responded with a bit of confusion.

"On the phone silly." Pinkie replied with a giggle.

"Pinkie Pie I don't have a phone! And I'm sure neither do you!" The voice replied with a drawn out sigh. "Never mind, you said you have a new looper with you."

Pinkie nodded. "Yup! We're in the Town Square!"

"I'll be there in a moment."

There was a flash of white light and a new purple pony appeared beside Pinkie who clicked a stopwatch.

"Just under three seconds," Pinkie Pie pronounced, "that's on average eighty seven seconds less than a moment."

The purple pony just looked at Pinkie for a mome... for an indeterminate period of time before shaking her head and turning her attention to the fallen Maketh.

"Hi, I'm Twilight Sparkle, resident Anchor for the Equestria loops." Twilight said, helpfully offering Maketh a hoof up. "It's nice to met someone new. May I enquire what your name is?"

"Maketh." Maketh mumbled quietly.

"Of the Star Wars Rebels loops?" Twilight asked gently, receiving a tentative surprised nod in reply. Twilight explained. "Ezra informed me about you the last time he passed through and that you had shall we say," Twilight winced, "an unpleasant introduction to the loops."

At Maketh's slight pained look, Twilight waved her hooves frantically.

" Ah no no no, nothing like that. He didn't provide any clear details, claimed that was your decision to make, story to tell. He just asked me to spread the word around that you were looping, had a rough start and he would be grateful if anyone who ran into you gave you a helping hand. Luckily for you we've designated our loop as a sanctuary, you'll be able to relax here. Would you like to come back to the library for a cup of tea while I explain our loop to you?" Twilight offered with a kind look.

Maketh coughed slightly before replying. "That would be very nice, thank you."

"It's not far from here so we'll just walk and I can point out a few things on the way. Now Pinkie Pie." Twilight said, her voice rising slightly."Inform the others that we have a newcomer in town so they should keep the shenanigans down and Pinkie," directing this last bit towards towards the pink mare, "no large scale parties until our guest finds her feet, ok."

"Yessir!" Pinkie Pie saluted. "P48247 Party type shelved for indeterminate period instead P87532 Party type will be mobilized to allow for quiet gatherings."

And still holding the salute Pinkie Pie bounced off. Maketh found her head bobbing along as her gaze followed the bouncing pony. Twilight gave a slight cough and when Maketh's attention turned to her, indicated their path. Their progress was halted in midstride however when a yell came from the direction that Pinkie disappeared in.

"WAHOO! NEW ELM! I mean NEW PONY! NEW PONY!"

Twilight facehoofed. Lowering her hoof she gave Maketh a rueful grin.

"Sorry about that, Pinkie gets a bit exited at times and she enjoys meeting new people. She was probably holding that in the entire time she met you." Twilight said apologetically, before mumbling. "If I'm honest Pinkie is probably the most chaotic thing you'll encounter in all of Equestria and with our baseline that is saying something."

* * *

**33.2     [Spanish Inquisitor]** (Scoddri)

Ezra walked through his mindscape, waiting for the Inquisitor to show up again. A nearby door burst open, alongside a loud trumpet blast. The Inquisitor leapt in, wearing a sombrero, and shouted, "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisitor! My two weapons are fear and surprise! No, I have THREE weapons; fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency! No there are FOUR!"

There was a long silence.

"I have to restart."

Ezra stared as the Inquisitor walked out of the door and after a slight pause burst in again to restart. Ezra couldn't hold back his laughter when the Inquisitor tied him to a dishwasher rack. How would that even work?

* * *

**33.3     [** **The WhiteBoard]** (numair2304)

Blinking at the usual Awakening disorientation Ezra found himself behind the wheel of a run of the mill automobile. Waking in the driver's seat of a vehicle wasn't really the best place for a looper as the expanding conscious and memories took a short time to come to grips with situation, especially if the looper in question had a different body than normal. Fur and claws weren't Ezra's normal look. Luckily for Ezra in this case the vehicle was stationary, parked amongst others in a countryside carpark.

Feeling a familiar Force presence beside him, Ezra smiled. Turning he took in his looping girlfriend's new look, noting her doing the same.

To Sabine, Ezra appeared to be a human sized and shaped mustelid of medium height, wirey build with a round face and round eyes. His fur was an orangey brown with a white underbelly. The way his body was twisting suggested a very flexible substructure.

Ezra considered Sabine's form. She appeared to be an human anthro of canine heritage. Medium height with a slim build, narrowed eyes within a slender face accented by the single gold earring in one ear. Her fur was a patchwork of black, brown, white and orange.

"So, anthropomorphic animals this loop." Sabine said matter of factually after a quick peek at her loop memories. "Seems like the basic normal Earth but with us instead of humans."

"It will probably be interesting to see all the variety." Ezra mused as his gaze followed how Sabine's ears were twitching occasionally.

"Well I know mine's a bit of a rarity in these parts." Sabine said lifting her arms to examined her patterned fur with interest. "African wild dog. Cool markings, I might copy them in the future. What are did you get?"

"Weasel." Ezra stated flatly, sensing the amusement in the question.

"Good at sneaking and crawling through vents, I can see it." Sabine remarked with a cheeky smirk on her muzzle. "So where are we... Ezra look!" Sabine exclaimed, her observations of their surroundings halted as she pointed gleefully to a sign displaying the words 'Red's Paintball Field'. "I'm already liking this loop."

"Would you believe it's our 1000th loop anniversary of playing paintball this loop?" Ezra dubiously said. Sabine gave him a dry look, her expression highlighting her belief of that statements accuracy. Ezra's ears sagged at the visual skepticism. Recovering he said. "Ok, ok I admit I'm grasping at straws but we're here, there's a paintball field here, so let's play!"

"Yep!" Sabine agreed cheerfully after a moment's reflection.

Getting out the car, they stood together and looked around. Nearby an adult polar bear was talking to a young arctic fox by his side. "The main woods fields are through there, the speedball course is off to the right, and the target and chrony range is down that little trail past the benches."

"Okay." The youngling said.

The polar bear continued his description. "There's a firepit over there for parties and barbecues, the little shack is the office and pro-shop where you sign in and get rental stuff, and the bathrooms are right over there."

"I thought you did that in the woods." A nearby raccoon interjected with humour.

"That's a myth. There are very few forests above the Arctic Circle." The polar bear stated flatly.

Watching the trio talk, Ezra and Sabine were caught unawares when a voice called out from behind them.

"Hey folks!"

Turning they saw a fox talking to them.

"Name's Red, owner of these fields." Red held out a hand for them to shake. "Haven't seen you two here around before. Are you here to play today?" Seeing both Ezra and Sabine nod, Red sighed slightly. "It's a busy day today but we should be able to fit you into a few games. If you get yourselves signed in at the shop we'll find a place to slot you in." Red said pointing towards the small structure before turning away. As Red walked away he called over his shoulder. "You can rent equipment if you don't have any."

"That's ok, we have stuff stored in the car." Ezra called after Red, already thinking of what in their Pockets he and Sabine could use.

Ezra turned to Sabine and, seeing that she already had a hand disappearing into mid air reaching for stuff, said. "So for now all we need are the basics like a mask, jacket and a paint gun. Try not to grab anything overpowered, we don't know what the skill level here is."

**BOOM!**

The explosive noise drew their attention towards the chrony.

"Ezra..." Sabine said in questioning tone as she observed what was being timed.

"Yes..." Ezra replied in the same tone seeing the same thing.

"Is the raccoon trying to chrony an actual paintball railgun!?" Sabine asked in a mixture of disbelief and rising excitement.

"Looks like it." Ezra answered before noticing something else out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head slightly to get a better angle his eyes widened slightly. "The polar bear over there seems to have a mortar stored in his truck."

There was a pause as both of them took a moment to let those facts settle in their minds.

"We have to absolutely play here!" Sabine exclaimed enthusiastically. "Let's sign in!"

* * *

**33.4     [IMC Hangar]** (numair2304)

Kanan slammed into the crate he'd been thrown into by Vader, the impact enough to knock the cowboy jedi unconscious leaving  Ezra standing between Vader and the rest of the Spectres.

Raising his hand Vader sent a blast of Force towards the boy but was slightly surprised to find his attempt deflected by a wave of the boy's hand.

Shifting in his stationary position, Ezra altered his stance to something more defensive. Facing down Darth Vader, lit lightsaber in his hand.

"What's sad is that a part of me wants to say you shall not pass!" Ezra muttered under his breath.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Inside one of the Imperial complex's hangars sparks flew as the blades of energy collided. Blue meet red as Ezra and Vader lightsabers clashed, seemingly evenly matched in conflict as they fought.

In the background a disbelieving Spectre crew including a slightly concussed Kanan watched the fight.

"You have strength, child." Vader admitted, the strength the boy displayed at such a young age was incredible. Vader poured on the pressure, increasing the speed and power of his blows and slowly the boy gave ground against the onslaught. "But you are still no match for the power of the Dark Side."

The next engagement led to the azure and crimson blades locked together, sizzling as neither of their wielders relaxed the pressure.

"I admit it... you are better than I am." Ezra with a slight smile over the crossed blades at his opponent.

"And yet you find amusement in your defeat?" Vader questioned, freeing his blade from the lock with an downwards sweep. As the boy disengaged and whirled away from the sweep, Vader studied his opponent. No fear, no anger, no negative emotions, no belief in their defeat. If it wasn't for the boy's age he would believe he was fighting a master. Gripping his lightaber's hilt with both hands Vader swept his blade up in a powerful stroke. "Why are you smiling?"

"I wouldn't say that my defeat is evitable." Ezra's blade met the stroke but instead of repelling the power of the blow flowed with it, using the strength of the attack to push him back, jumping back with it to leave some room between himself and armored Sith. "Because I know something you don't know."

Vader lifted his arm, angling his blade. Something gave the boy confidence but what? An ambush didn't seem likely, judging from the rebel crew's confused expressions and emotions, the boy's strength was a surprise to them.

"And what is that?" Vader asked curiously, still studying the battlefield.

"I am not left-handed." And so saying Ezra switched his lightsaber over to his other hand and went back on the offensive.

* * *

**33.5     [Hot Hot Hot]** (numair2304)

Sweltering heat bore down upon Lothal's plains as slowly broke. Amongst a collection of rocky outcrops the heat shimmer hovered over the shell of the Ghost, the interior of which was starting to feel like a slow cook oven to the Awake occupants. In the early hours, for one brief moment, the skies had opened up and rain had pelted down. The rainfall had disappeared as soon as it appeared and the momentary cool was swamped by the returning vengeance of the heat alongside its new partner humidity.

In the lounge most of the crew were gathered trying to avoid the heat. Multiple fans were placed to try and fight the heat but that battle had been lost a while ago and now all they were doing now was fighting a rearguard retreat.

Ezra sagged, sweat drenched, sitting against the wall. "Argh!" He groaned plaintively, his energy drained by the heat. "It's too hot, this is unbearable. Can't we take off and head for space, space is cold! Or just find somewhere cool outside?"

Beside him Sabine wasn't in much better condition. "We're hiding from the Empire right now, hanging out in orbit would get us noticed. And there's no use heading outside, it's worst outside. I don't know what's worse," Sabine mumbled, "the heat or the humidity."

Out of all of them Hera looked the worst, draped on the sofa with a cold compress on her head moaning slightly.

"I don't know what you are all complaining about, the temperature seems fine to me." Zeb said as he made his move in the game of dejarik he was playing against Chopper. Zeb grinned at the whine of annoyance his statement returned as his Monnok defeated his opponent's K'lor'slugs.

["ME TOO"] Chopper whistled cheerfully making his next move, resulting in another whine of annoyance from the heat struck members of crew.

Ezra, the slight irritation at their words sparking a return of energy, glared towards the duo.

"Zeb," Ezra said, "you're not that affected as your species is used to tropical and desert climates and I'm pretty sure you've worked out how to cheat using your Iron Dragonslayer's abilities as a heat sink." Zeb momentarily flushed face indicated that Ezra had hit true with that guess. Ezra then turned his focus on a shuddering with suppressed laughter Chopper. "And don't you pretend, Chopper, that you aren't being affected by this somewhat. I spotted you waterproofing yourself earlier against the humidity."

Hera gave another depressed moan, this time accompanied with insensate jabbering. Zeb gave Hera a worried look.

"She's really out of it. Is she going to be all right?" Zeb asked, a shard of worry in his words. "I thought Twi'leks were used to higher temperatures."

"Some of them are yes, some of them live in costal climates and some, I guess, spend so much time in a cockpit that their bodies forget how to deal with the heat." Ezra hazarded as a answer. "I do know that Twi'lek's naturally have a higher body temperature than humans so if we think it's hot, I dread to think how Hera feels."

All of them stared at Hera. With a sigh Zeb got up removed Hera's compress, re-soaked and returned it before returning to his seat.

Sabine felt like asking an obvious question. "How is that all of us have spare parts in our Pockets to repair and in some cases rebuild the Ghost but no one has an air conditioner unit?"

"Lack of foresight." Ezra muttered.

Their conversation was interrupted by cheerful whistling as the last member of the crew joined everyone else in the lounge.

"Good morning everyone!" Kanan chirruped, entering the room with a spring in his step and in the process completely failed to register the many looks of disbelief at his demeanor. Upbeat, cheerful, no sign of suffering from the heat, no sheen of sweat, it was like Kanan was experiencing a different world to the rest of them.

"How are you doing that?" Sabine was the first to ask.

Kanan frowned, pausing in his step. "What do you mean?" Kanan asked confused.

"That!" Sabine exclaimed pointing at Kanan.

Kanan's look of confusion deepened. "If you don't explain what that it is I'm supposedly doing, I can't really answer." Kanan calmly pointed out.

Taking note of Sabine's growing look of frustration Zeb took over the conversation.

"What see means laserbrain," Zeb drawled at Kanan, "is why, when pretty much everyone else is suffering from the heat do you seem fresh as a daisy and full of energy."

"It's not that hot is it?" Kanan asked, observing Zeb's condition.  "You seem to be ok with the temperature."

Zeb shuffled slightly in his seat. "I've got a trick to avoid the worst." Zeb admitted but noticing the rising look of vindication in Ezra's eyes ploughed on. "But it only works if I'm still and concentrating on it. You're not doing anything like that."

"I suppose it does seem a bit warm." Kanan mused, registering the state of the rest of the crew around him. It still didn't feel that bad to him.

"A bit warm! That's like saying the Empire's a bit oppressive!" Ezra said in disbelief.

Kanan shrugged and continued making his way across the room. As he passed Ezra, Ezra's eyes widened for a moment as he felt something that seemed impossible in the heat box. Unsure if what he felt was just a trick of the mind Ezra dragged himself to his feet pulling a disgruntled Sabine along with him.

"Ezra..." Sabine tiredly complained, not wanting to move.

"Just trust me for a moment." Ezra said to console her and moving over to Kanan, Ezra placed his and Sabine's entwined hand on Kanan's shoulder. Sabine's eyes widened as she registered the difference between Kanan and the rest of the room.

"See." Ezra said to Sabine who nodded in reply.

Kanan looked at the two of them with a raised eyebrow, unsure what they were going on about.

"Are you two finished?" Kanan asked. He was surprised when the duo shuffled closer to him. "Ok! What's going on?"

"Kanan you're cold!" Sabine stated, reveling in the colder temperature.

Kanan disagreed with her. "No I'm not, like I said I feel a bit warm."

"No, I mean the air around you is cold." Sabine explained, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the cold air. "How are doing that?"

"I told you I'm not doing anything!" Kanan getting nervous over the growing looks of euphoria on Ezra's and Sabine's face.

Getting up Zeb moved over to the trio and held his hand close to Kanan to test. It was like walking into a different room or from outside a structure to the inside, there was a distinct change in the air close to Kanan.

"They're right mate." Zeb said, pulling his hand back and then returning it. "It's definitely colder around you than the rest of the room."

Chopper having followed Zeb whistled in agreement.

["TEMPARUTURE AROUND KANAN IS MEASURABLY LESS THAN THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE OF THE ROOM."] Chopper warbled, trundling back and forth to get readings.

"Do you think Kanan's using his cryokinesis to subconsciously cool the air around him?" Ezra asked eagerly, scooting closer to Kanan.

"Maybe." Zeb said, moving further into the area affected. "Kanan didn't seem to realize what he was doing."

"Do you think Kanan can increase the effect and range?" Sabine asked with hopeful tones.

["THE FACT THAT KANAN WAS ABLE COVER THIS AREA OF VOLUME WITH OUT EVEN NOTICING SUGGESTS THAT HE SHOULD BE CAPABLE OF HOLDING IT OVER A LARGER AREA."] Chopper chirped, still taking readings.

As the conversation moved further into theories and ways to experiment, Kanan was becoming increasingly nervous with the crew's animation over this new highlighted trick of his. He honestly hadn't realized that he was doing anything, he thought that the warm snap had cleared. Now, looking at the crew's exhilarated faces, it felt like he was close to becoming the subject of a mad scientist cackling over a new pet project.

"Hey let's all calm down here and stop with the crowding." Kanan said, breaking away from the group.

 Kanan backed away from them until the back of his legs struck the sofa.

"I get that the heat is getting to all of you but-"

A green arm crossed Kanan's vision wrapping around his torso.

"Hera what-! gwark!" Kanan managed to squawk before he was yanked to join Hera on the sofa.

When Kanan got to grips with his new situation he realized he was pinned between Hera and the back of the sofa.

"Hera!" Kanan exclaimed.

"Mmmm. Cold." Was the only reply Hera murmured drowsily as she snuggled closer, her deeper breathing signifying that she was falling asleep.

"Guys!" Kanan hissed quietly, not wanting to disturb Hera. "Get me out of here."

The crew looked at Kanan, then at each other where a silent acknowledgement passed and then back to Kanan with grins on their faces.

"Looks like Hera made a claim first." Sabine said with a smirk. "I'll leave you in peace, thanks to that brief relief I'm feeling a lot better and I've got some ideas involving seals to mimic that effect."

And with a smirk still on her face Sabine left the room.

"Sabine!" Kanan hissed in mild annoyance. "Zeb! Help me untangle Hera."

"No can do laserbrain." Zeb said with a grin. His face turned serious. "The heat has affected her the worst, this is the most relaxed and content I've seen Hera look all day, I'm not spoiling that for her. Me and Chopper can continue our game in the cockpit."

["TRUE, LET'S GO."] Chopper whistled.

"Besides," Zeb's face sported a grin again as he and Chopper left the room. "You're both old enough to be trusted without a chaperone."

"Zeb!" Kanan hissed, but more in resignation than anger. Kanan turned to the last standing member of the Spectres in the room. "Et tu Ezra?"

"I suppose so." Ezra agreed nonchalantly. "Zeb is right though, Hera really hasn't been coping well with this weather. I will admit that I was starting to consider a raid on the Imperials, despite our need for secrecy, for any air-conditioning equipment they had. This works out just as well, so just treat it as if you were looking after a sick friend and be there for them.  And don't worry about any of us messing around with you, we'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

And with those parting words, Ezra exited the room smiling.

Kanan groaned slightly and silently swore that he'd get revenge on all of them later. He glanced down at his sleeping jailer, despite Hera's sleeping face being relaxed and peaceful he could distinguish the fading signs of heat stress and flushed skin. Kanan gave her a gentle smile and shifted slightly to gain a more comfortably position on the sofa, closing his eyes in mediation. The things he did for his friends, Kanan mused whimsical as he settled in for the long haul.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The blurred ceiling of the lounge appeared as Hera tiredly opened her eyes. For a while she stayed motionless, just laying there staring at the ceiling. She felt very mellow, her current position felt quite comfortable and cool after the searing heat from earlier. After a few minutes, despite not wanting to move, she decided it was time to get up. Blinking a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes she tried to sit up but was prevented when she felt something holding her in place and heard a low grumble. Tilting her head slightly she realized that Kanan was asleep on the sofa with her and it was his arm preventing her movement. Looking at Kanan confused, her memories hazy over why they were even like this, Hera heard a slight cough. Twisting her head the other way she saw Sabine sitting on a stool nearby.

"Good evening." Sabine said quietly, raising a eyebrow in amusement. "I assume you had a nice sleep."

Hera's blush wasn't helped that at that particular moment Kanan decided to shift in his sleep hugging her closer.

"Here..." Sabine whispered, moving slowly to help Hera extricate herself without waking Kanan.

Once freedom had been achieved Sabine gave Hera a silent indication that they should vacate the room which Hera agreed to with a nod. Both them were silent until they reached the shelter of Hera's room where Sabine filled Hera in on the days happenings. By the time Sabine was finished Hera had picked up a blush again.

"So I really..." Hera asked Sabine, sitting beside her on the bunk.

"Yep!" Sabine exclaimed, resounding the final consonant with a smirk. "You were so affected by the heat that you used Kanan as a your own personal cooler. Oh and speaking of the heat, catch!" Sabine gently tossed a pendant over Hera. Hera caught it and studied it closely, noting the seal engraved on the metal, a seal that was slowly starting to glow. "I rigged up a seal to deal with the heat, that's yours." Sabine explained. "It slowly absorbs the ambient heat from the surroundings and converts it to light. Had to include the conversion or the heat would eventually end up burning through the seal and the person wearing it."

"Thanks." Hera said gratefully placing the pendant around her neck.

"You know, once I had the first prototype finished and was able to think outside the oppressive heat I got to thinking of other ways to stave off the heat." Sabine looked at Hera questionably. "And that made me wonder, why didn't you use a cooling charm?"

As Sabine's implication crossed Hera's mind and the resulting realization that she already had a method of staving off the heat, Hera buried her face in her hands, her face burning red as the blush that had slowly retreated returned with reinforcements. Of course she could have used a spell to help her with the heat wave, the cooling charm was a required second year spell at Hogwarts, there was even a freezing charm taught in third year. In fact to Hera's growing embarrassment she considered that there were a whole branch of Weather-Modifying charms, at worst she could have used aguamenti to soak herself with water reducing her temperature that way. The whole situation with Kanan could have been avoided.

"It completely slipped my mind. I forgot." Hera admitted peeking through her hands.

Sabine giggled at Hera's plaintive expression. Sabine leaned in closer.

"So now that it is just us girls. How was it? Spending the day wrapped in Kanan's arms? Give a girl some details."

Hera's unAwake self had had fun teasing Sabine about her growing crush on Ezra, Sabine thought it quite justified in return for her to tease Hera about sharing a couch with Kanan.

Hera's shocked gasp "Sabine!" was clearly audible out in the corridor as was Sabine's laughter at Hera's face.

* * *

**33.6     [** **Musical Mayhem]** (numair2304)

Yoyo groaned as he worked at this desk, it seemed this loop someone Awake was really annoyed with the Empire. A short time after he'd Awoken the broadcast system had been subverted and now music was playing nonstop throughout the Imperial complex.

It wasn't just the same song played on a continuous loop, no that would be too simple instead each individual room and connecting hallways had its own personal soundtrack. If a person adapted and managed to treat the constant music as background changing rooms brought it all back to the forefront of their perception with the change of music.

The patrols tried to keep their composure as they walked their beat.

"When der Führer says, 'Ve ist der master race'. Ve HEIL! Th-hhhh! HEIL! Th-hhhh! right in der Führer's face-"

In the main canteen Stormtroopers and other off duty Imperial personal tried to eat.

"Peanut butter jelly! Peanut butter jelly! Do the peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly. Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat-"

In the adjoining kitchen the busy staff couldn't help wondering why they were being subjected to their particular song, they weren't even serving seafood.

"Are you ready, kids? I said, are you ready? Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants. Absorbent and yellow and porous is he. Spongebob Squarepants-"

Throughout The Academy for Young Imperials various songs were playing their own messages.

"Rule number one, is that you gotta have fun. But baby when you're done, you gotta be the first to run. Rule number two, just don't get attached to, somebody you could lose-"

"Hey! We are Number One. Hey! We are Number One. Now listen closely. Here's a little lesson in trickery. This is going down in history. If you wanna be a Villain Number One. You have to chase a superhero on the run-"

"Yeah yeah, do the Beep Beep-Chicken. Yeah yeah, with the Yodel-Champ-"

"I must've dreamed a thousand dreams, been haunted by a million screams, but I can hear the marching feet, they're moving into the street-"

The hangers bays were the only place without vocals instead a strain of keyboard music repeated over and over again. The mechanics and work crews were inclined to believe it was related to the graffiti spray painted over the walls showing a cat at a keyboard.

And all of that were some of the gentler ones.

Some of the local squads had been posted on permanent assignment to outlying areas and their barracks sealed off when the songs they were being subjected to left them on the cusp of breaking down.

"Sunday is gloomy. My hours are slumberless. Dearest the shadows. I live with are numberless. Little white flowers will never awaken you, not where the black-"

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world. Life in plastic, it's fantastic. You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere. Imagination, life is your creation-"

Even Yoyo's office wasn't safe from the musical onslaught.

"Nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan nyan- _"_

Yoyo groaned again as the musical meme penetrated the ear plugs and cotton wool stuffed in his ears, and the ear muffs placed atop of them. Enough was enough, Yoyo understood that there were good reasons to attack the Empire but getting caught in the crossfire wasn't fun at all. He'd been suffering this for over seven hours now. It was time to take action.

_Yoyo'd: Whoever's doing this I understand wanting to prank the empire but don't forget about friendly fire._

_Yoyo'd: I am quite happy to retaliate if this keeps up for much longer._

_AllHailMe: Yoyo? You're Awake? Sorry I thought it was just me and boss._

There was a burst of static and Yoyo's office was filled with blessed silence. Removing his ear guards he resumed typing.

_Yoyo'd: Loki, is that you? Where's Ezra?_

_AllHailMe: Boss told me to have fun, he was having a vacation. My orders were irritate the Imperials and aid the Rebels_.

_Yoyo'd Could you tone it down somewhat? I mean some of these people don't deserve this._

_Yoyo'd: I've had to assign some with a suicide watch after what they were subjected to._

_Yoyo'd: Where do you even find this stuff?_

_AllHailMe: The internet is a scary place._

* * *

**33.7     [The Ravine] (numari2304)**

Ezra reached into the ravine's depths, connecting with the mind residing there.

The Inquisitor stared at the small creature that appeared with a can in its paws. The red squirrel took a sip of the energy drink, twitching and shaking as the drink took effect.

Hammy felt his mind open as time slowed to a crawl leaving him happily ambling amongst the living statues. The small human had offered him a bag of cookies in exchange for pranks on everyone else bar himself and the brown haired human. Hammy did like a cookie.

"I get a cookie." Hammy exclaimed cheerfully as he got to work,

* * *

The Inquisitor stared at the three padawans standing at the back of the cavern. With a hiss, three lightsabers lit up in unison. The Inquisitor found himself facing three glowing blades, one blue, one green and one... red?

"Alvin!" The green one hissed. "The bad guys here are the ones who have red lightsabers." Indicating towards the Inquisitor's red glowing blade with a wave.

"I don't care, red is my colour. I not letting any individual or organisation tell me different." The labelled Alvin announced with no reservations. "If the local villains run with red than it just means they have some decent fashion sense." He studied the Inquisitors outfit with distaste. "Though apparently with blades not clothing."

The blue one pushed his glasses up with a free hand.

"It is at times more relaxing to conform to the rules and trends of certain loops in order to avoid confrontations with authority figures. Theoretically I would agree it doesn't make sense to judge a beings alignment based on their colour scheme since that should be about personal choice rather than long term goals. If such a judgment was true then Theodore would be aligned with evil during a term with Hogwarts—"

"I don't know why liking green automatically makes me a bad person there." A disgruntled Theodore muttered loudly.

"See! Just because it's believed by the majority doesn't make it true." Alvin stated loudly, feeling justified. He would agree that sometimes the belief fit but that was more likely the idea of a broken clock being right occasionally, eventually something would line up right. "Though I will admit that the blue matches Simon there though, he's a perfect match for Ravenclaw."

The identified Simon coughed loudly drawing the other two's attention.

"As I was saying just because Theodore prefers green on his robes does not make him anything like the stereotype of what a Slytherin is considered to be instead he is one of the kindest people I know."

"Aw." Theodore murmured, his cheeks glowing slightly with embarrassment.

"And if we continue to follow the colour wheel in a lot of worlds with my choice of blue I would be classified as a Chessmaster, a Manipulator, an Influencer; creating plans, moving people into positions for my goals, sacrificing unwitting pawns."

There was silence.

"What?" Simon asked his staring brothers.

"You're not are you?" Theodore asked, a slight worried warble in his voice.

"You're the usual winner of the chess championships at home." Alvin pointed out, studying Simon closely.

Simon sighed, massaging the top of the nose to try and stave off the incipient headache.

"Chess boards have set rules, people don't. And honestly," Simon turned to Alvin, "do you really believe I can predict whatever you might decide to do at times."

"You didn't really say yes or no." Alvin poked at Simon.

"I have much better things to do with my time then move a blockhead around."      Simon sniffed.

"So you have considered the idea at least!" Alvin crowed in triumph.

"Alvin! Simon!" Theodore tugged at his brothers sleeves as they started to bicker.

The Inquisitor stared in disbelief at the quarrelling trio, well quarrelling duo with the third hesitantly trying to get them to stop. From being the focus of their attention he had been gradually ignored and now apparently dismissed from their minds completely as irrelevant.

* * *

The Inquisitor walked into the dimness of the cavern.

"¡Arriba, arriba! ¡Ándale, ándale!" Came a loud cry.

There was a blur of speed and the Inquisitor found himself and his accompanying squad of stormtroopers trussed up with ropes. Unable to balance themselves, they all slowly toppled over with a crash.

"They don't make 'em like they used to." A voice crowed with enthusiasm.

"Show yourself." The Inquisitor snarled, struggling against his bindings. His eyes and senses darted about trying to track their captor but unable to find anyone.

"Excusa! Esta too mucho rapido for the eyes to follow? I'll show you in el slow motiono."

There was another blur and standing before the Inquisitor's eyes was a small mouse wearing a yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief around its neck.

"Us good guys always win." Speedy Gonzales gave a victorious grin.

* * *

"So Ratatoskr, you're a courier for Yggdrasil's Admins." Erza asked the large horned squirrel to see if he understood it right.

"Yep. Sorry about falling into your loop I was trying a new shortcut and must of got turned around somewhere." Ratatoskr replied, scratching his head in an embarrassed fashion. Tripping while running and crashing into the man waving the red light around hadn't been the best of first meetings but apparently the man was one of the local villains so it had worked out well. The red light had tickled a bit when the man had tried to hit him with it.

"Why do the Admins need a courier service?" Kanan asked, his mind trying to escape the fact that a lightsaber had bounced off the squirrels fur like it was water.

"After the first crash and the resulting mess; all the extra work and problem reports mean that it turns out to be quicker for me to physical run a message than for someone to find an urgent message amongst all the clutter on the network. It makes a nice change to my usual gig. My previous occupation was passing along insults between the dragon Níðhöggr and the eagle Veðrfölnir ." Ratatoskr was happy to explain in detail. Not many took an interest in his work, it was nice to talk about his job and what it entailed.

After hearing the explanation Ezra asked with some fatalistic trepidation.

"And how much of your current workload is carting around insults between the various Admins."

Ratatokr's cheerful answer of about half of it was accepted with forlorn resignation by the two loopers.

* * *

Ezra stood alone at the edge of the ravine facing down the Inquisitor. Suddenly the cavern was lit up as a white light formed closed to the ceiling.

"Look! It's beautiful Rizzo!" A voice yelled exultantly.

"Mommy!" A different voice screamed wildly.

There was a brief flash as the light's intensity increased only for it to then disappear completely as two figures appeared out of thin air in its place and fell to floor in a pile.

The cavern's occupants, eyes blinking from the flare, saw that the two strangers appeared to be one large rat and one blue thing? No one really recognised what species the blue one was supposed to. Well the stormtroopers and Inquisitor didn't recognise the species. Kanan and Ezra recognised them both though.

Rizzo the Rat and Gonzo the Great, both dressed for the Hub's 1840s. Gonzo wearing a fancy frock coat and a whole lot of pattern-mixing; striped socks, chequer pants, plaid waist and different chequer pattern on his tie. Rizzo wearing a brown coat, chequer waistcoat and striped cravat. And both with a top hat.

Groaning Rizzo rose to his feet and looked around at his surroundings. He shook himself and then spoke sarcastically to his companion.

"Um... correct me if I'm wrong Mr Dickens but I'm pretty sure that Scrooge's childhood didn't happen in a cave alongside people with glowing swords."

"Rizzo." Gonzo grumbled, rising to his own feet.

"Don't you Rizzo me." Rizzo shook his head looking at Gonzo. "Hold on you said and I did, it was you who let go of the rope. One moment we're heading to Scrooge's past, the next we're freewheeling through time. I knew that we should have had a doctor look at you after you hit yourself with the hook but oh no you said, I'm fine, nothing wrong with me." Rizzo huffed. "Should have realised it was the concussion talking. So what now Mr Godlike Smarty-Pants!"

"I got nothing." Gonzo said with a shrug, Rizzo huffed.

"I thought you were omniscient, that you knew everything!" Rizzo complained.

"For where and when we were. I'm the storyteller for Christmas Carol not whatever we are now. I don't have a script." Gonzo explained to his irritated friend.

"So we're offscript right now?" 

"Yeah, fun right! We're playing it by ear." Gonzo exclaimed in an excited voice.

"And you're just cock-a-hoop about it, aren't you." Rizzo sighed, accepting his friend's positive outlook as the norm. "So Mr Storyteller even if you don't know the story can you at least analyse what's going on in this scene. Some of these people don't seem friendly."

"All right then." Gonzo agreed cheerfully, studying the people nearby. "Cast appears to be split between two sides, the similar uniforms on one side suggesting a military structure. Judging from the aggressive tension involved, the current scene is a standoff between an protagonist and antagonist, probably resulting in an development of character or acquisition of new skills. Maybe with repercussions."

"It's strange." Gonzo mused out loud as he scratched his head. Something about this sparked a memory of his. The swords and the white uniform the soldiers, he felt he should know them from somewhere. "Something about this feels familiar. I feel I should know more about the setting. Those weapons and the uniforms seem familiar."

Ezra shared a look with Kanan. No reaction to pings, neither of the muppets was Awake apparently. The sheer randomness of what was occurring had made the Inquisitor and the stormtroopers halt in their actions for now but that wouldn't last long, especially if Gonzo kept talking.

Gonzo focused on the glowing swords. They were something he knew but where from? What were they called again. Lightblade? No that wasn't it. Lightsword, No again. Lightsaber... the memory clicked, he remembered where he knew them from. Luke and his cousin Mark Hamill had them when he performed with them on the Show. He'd gotten his own snazy one when he'd played Dearth Nadir.

Ezra shifted position slightly ready to react to any change. The uneasy tension would be broken the moment someone asked any awkward questions.

"Does the name Luke Skywalker mean anything to anybody?" Gonzo asked everyone.

Like that for example, Ezra thought. From how the Inquisitor stiffened at that question it seemed he recognised Vader's family name.

_|"Time to clear the room."|_ Ezra sent to Kanan.

_|"Agreed."|_ Kanan replied.

Between them they grabbed all the Imperial Forces in the cavern, stunning the Inquisitor for good measure and threw them out of the entrance. Kanan guarded the entrance while Ezra went to introduce himself.

"Hi sorry about that bit of unpleasantness but that name isn't one you should spread around at the moment. I'm Ezra, my teacher over there is Kanan." Ezra said. Holding a hand out, he received Gonzo's in turn and shook it.

"How do you do? My name is Mr Charles Dickens, a brother of the quill." Gonzo introduced himself with a flourish, taking the recent chaos in stride.

"And I'm Rizzo. By the way his real name's Gonzo, he's really in to method acting." Rizzo said, indicating his companion. A bit nervous about the violence that had just occurred but absorbing the fact that they had only been offered friendliness from Ezra and Kanan so far. 

"Could you perchance give us directions to the city of London." Gonzo asked Ezra.

"Yeah about that. At the moment you're at the outer rim of the galaxy. Not only that I think you might be in a different galaxy than you were last in."

"Oh great." Rizzo said turning to Gonzo. "We're supposed to be a long time ago, not in a galaxy far far away."

"I think you're both." Ezra unhelpfully offered up.

* * *

Ezra reached into the ravine's depths, connecting with the mind... the minds residing there.

The Inquisitor gave a large yell of rage and confusion as he and his forces were swarmed by a flood of bushy tailed critters.

"Squirrels." Kanan pronounced the single word in a dull tone.

The squad of stormtroopers led by the Grand Inquisitor had disappeared under the mass scurry of squirrels with only the occasional glimpse of white and black armour appearing beneath the twisting, shifting furry bodies.

"Squirrels."Ezra agreed in the same tone. Idly he wondered what would be recorded in the Empire's report about this incident before they tried to bury it.

Kanan and Ezra stood at the Phantom's open door watching the scene of the Empire's most recent defeat. Their eyes shifted for a moment as a group of squirrels broke away dragging away the Inquisitor's lightsaber before returning to the main scuffle. 

"Why is it squirrels again?" Kanan rhetorically asked the world at general.

"Maybe Yggdrasil has some nuts loose?" Ezra replied.

Kanan reached across and cuffed Ezra on the back of the head

"Ow!"

* * *

"Kanan."

"Ezra."

"Have you noticed how..."

"How our last few encounters at this location have been shall we say rodent themed." Kanan filled in the rest of the sentence.

"Yeah."

There was silence for a  while and then Ezra sighed.

"Let's see how this time plays out." Ezra said walking through the cave's entrance.

Later as they relaxed on the Ghost the duo considered their latest encounter.

"So not a rodent this time." Kanan was the first to start.

"No," Ezra agreed, "close but this time it was a mole."

"Breaking the rodent theme perhaps." Kanan edged.

"A mole, called Moley, looking for his friend Ratty, who happens to be a water rat." Ezra expanded.

Kanan considered that.

"So does this one count?" Kanan asked unsure.

"I dunno." Ezra replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 33.1: Took a long time to get this written. Still not sure whether I got it right.
> 
> qa' wlje'meHmaSuv!" We fight to enrich the spirit!
> 
> nltebQobqaDjup 'e' chaw'be' Suvml' A warrior does not let a friend face danger alone!
> 
> 33.2: Nice little sketch by Scoddri.   
> Scoddri: 'Based off a typo in an earlier loop, listing the Inquisitor as the Inquisition.'
> 
> 33.3: The WhiteBoard is a great webcomic, who's cast of characters whose antics rival some loopers. Ever since Ezra's and Sabine's first paintball game I've wanted them to end up in this world.
> 
> 33.4: Maybe the start of a new running gag loops
> 
> 33.5: At the moment of writing this it feels ridiculously hot where I am.
> 
> 33.6: Do you know I found it hard to choose music for this. I don't really find any music annoying for some reason, so I looked up lists of people's suggestions of annoying or depressing music.
> 
> 33.7: Got into a rodent theme for this set. Not sure why.  
> There is an outtake in the Muppet Christmas Carol that has Gonzo managing to hit himself with a grappling hook.


	34. TCAoaTTP 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three Little Works, YMCA, Holocron, And Action!, Wrath, PokeSpectres

"Speech" : Normal speech  
_'Speech'_ : Internal thoughts  
_|"Speech"|_ : Force bond, telepathy  
["Speech"] : Droid  
{"Speech"} : Computer text

* * *

**34.1     [Three Little Works]** (numair2304)

Eliza Smith left the stage to fetch a prescription for the ill Thomas Brown.

"...she flys, she flys." The men and woman sang.

"What a very nice young woman." Chorused the men on stage to themselves, the slight smile on their faces paling as the woman turned towards them with a stern gaze. Some men looked guilty, others explained they meant nothing more.

Amongst the audience in the hall Hera sat as she watched the antics on the stage. She had attended one of these productions, Ionlanthe, before during a Hub loop and had enjoyed the combination of music, plot and jollity. Upon Awaking on this world no one had responded to her Pings and it appeared to be a normal Hub loop. So she had decided to research more about plays and discovered that the local Gilbert & Suilivan society were celebrating sixty years of performing Gilbert & Suilivan productions with a Triple Bill. Two plays, Trial by Jury and the Zoo, and a collection of songs from the various other productions.

There came a blast from the brass section.

Thomas Brown, the man who had previously collapsed in the scene rose shakily from his seat.

"Ho! Guards!" Thomas Brown roared as he staggered around. "Minions!"

It started as a slight shake that rattled the light fixtures and freed dust to float down from the ceiling but it quickly escalated into a full on rumble. The doors at the back of hall burst open and turning Hera gasped at the wave of yellow that poured into the hall heading for the stage.

"Bananabananabananabananabanana." The yellow horde yelled as they charged into the theatre.

Hera sighed as the struggling cast trying to recover the show amidst the mayhem. _'This definitely wasn't in the program, I wanted to see what happened next.'_

* * *

**34.2     [YMCA]** (numair2304)

**'Dalek, there's a phrase you can say,**

**I said, Dalek, when you're feeling down.**

**Repeat this phrase, and I'm sure you will find**

**Many ways to have a good time.'**

A way off, Ezra took in the view and kneaded his forehead, feeling an incipient headache approaching. He had been hoping for a lazy loop but this was definitely not baseline with a group of Daleks performing a musical number set to YMCA. Beside him, Chopper kept recording the musical routine.

**'It's fun to say EX-TER-MIN-ATE.**

**It's fun to say EX-TER-MIN-ATE.'**

The ten Daleks spun on the spot as they enunciated in unison.

* * *

**34.3     [Holocron]** (numair2304)

Inside a cell onboard an Imperial Star Destroyer a young teenager sat upon the bunk depressed thinking about the last few hours. Captured by Imperial Forces for acting on a motive other than self interest for once and it had resulted in him being now alone in the cell. He had no intel, no real use for the Imperial Forces but the Agent involved in his capture thought that he could be used as bait but he knew that was not going to work. No one was going to come for him, people don't do that. Breathing deeply he slumped slightly forward, his elbows on his knees, his clasped hands placed in front of his face.

On a floor in the middle of the room where it had finished up after being thrown against the far wall a Jedi holocron mechanism's slowly clicked into position. Unnoticed by the youth the holocron started to float and open up.

Ezra Woke up and glancing up recognized his location. Early days he considered, checking his memories. Met the crew for the first time, met Agent Kallus for the first time. Got caught by the Imperials and thrown in an Imperial cell for the first time. As the holocron started to display its message Ezra ran an internal checklist on previous events until he registered exactly what the holocron was saying.

"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is a reminder to pick up some fresh groceries upon return to Coruscant. The stuff that remained after the last trip was evolved enough to vote in the Senate."

In disbelief Ezra stared at the holocron as it projected a hologram of the bearded man in robes

"Things also to remember. Pick up laundry, perform lightsaber maintenance, get updates on the latest Outer Rim mission reports..."

There was a crashing sound from the background and a cry in the distance of "It wasn't me!"

The man sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

"Addendum. See what trouble Anakin has got himself into yet again." Turning away he muttered. "Might as well be a daily goal."

"I heard that." Another distant cry came before the holocron deactivated.

* * *

**34.4     [And Action!]** (numair2304)

Ezra Awoke to find himself facing down the Grand Inquisitor who was standing in front of a green screen....?

"Is that really all you've got, my boy?" The Inquisitor said with a smug smile.

"Cut!" A voice yelled and a man walked between them with a smile. "That was good... a good strong opening for the character. How did you feel it went for you?"

The Inquisitor smug smile transformed into a more cheerful one. "I think it went very well."

Turning his head Ezra could see cameras and film crew arranged around them, inside of a studio. A quick flick through his memories reminded him that in this loop Star Wars Rebels was a television series they were filming and he was a member of the cast.

_'Ok so being an actor who portrays Ezra Bridger in a Star Wars production is a bit of twist,'_ Ezra considered before shrugging. _'But it shouldn't be that strange, reminds me of when Sweetie Belle mentioned doing voice recordings for herself.'_

Turning his attention back to the Inquisitor and the director he found them still talking.

"I'd like to... pick up from... where Ezra says er... what happened to her...maybe earlier... anyway you want..."

"Sure," the Director agreed with a nod. "I want the whole thing in close up, so we can do it then." He walked away out of the shot. "Okay everybody reset the scene and we'll start again but close-up this time."

Ezra shifted into his recalled starting position and then noticed his lightsaber prop lying on the floor off to one side. Belatedly he realized that he'd dropped it when he'd Awoken and absently mindedly retrieved his prop. As he went over the scene and his lines in his head he became aware of a silence in the room growing larger. Looking up he realized that he was the centre of the silence and that the surrounding cast and crew were staring open-eyed at him and at the hand holding the lightsaber prop. In confusion Ezra stared at the prop, what was wrong? All he had done was pick up the... 'Oh.' Ezra realized his mistake as he stared at the prop in his hand. He hadn't walked over and picked up the prop, instead he'd instinctively and without a care used the Force to retrieve it. So the entire room had observed the prop fly off the ground and into his hand. He glanced again at the wide-eyed film crew, cast members and rubbed at the back of his head with his free hand.

"Well," he said bluntly. "This is awkward."

* * *

**34.5     [Wrath]** (numair2304)

Yoyo pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes shut, hoping that when he opened them again that his current headache would no longer exist. Opening them he saw that he had no such luck as on the parade ground in front of him Commandant Aresko and Taskmaster Grint stood at attention.

"So let me get this straight." Yoyo read the report again. "As you were on patrol you arrested a local girl for charges of treason."

"She was hindering us in our duties, interfering in our search for the rebels." Comandant Aresko asserted, Grint nodding in the affirmative alongiside.

"Really?" Yoyo raised an eyebrow. "It's interesting that I have a separate report on the events in question." Aresko and Grint exchanged a nervous glance. "That she was just a innocent bystander that Taskmaster Grint ran into during a chase, knocking both her and himself over, and that during the fallout from that collision both you and your squad lost contact with your current target."

"Eh..." Grint shuffled nervously.

"I assume," Yoyo lifted his gaze to stare at Commandant Aresko, "that you decided at that point to attempt to save face by making an arrest despite there being no proof whatsoever of the girl being involved in your case."

"There was no proof that she wasn't." Aresko asserted, relaxing his posture. "What does it matter any way?" Waving off the chain of events as inconsequential. "She's just a local of no great importance. A few days of interrogation will reveal the truth either way."

Yoyo sighed, rolling his shoulders. He could feel the tremors going stronger. "The problem 'Commandant'." Yoyo grinned to himself as Aresko worriedly snapped back to attention at the emphasise on that word. "Is the girl's father. He's well known for having quite a temper."

Taskmaster Grint sniffed at what he considered worthless information. "So the man's a bit hot headed so what... sir!" Grint snapped to uneasy attention as Yoyo's gaze sharpened on him, realizing that he talking snidely to a superior officer.

Yoyo sighed again. "You didn't read up on the girl's background. If you had you would understand why we're discussing this situation outside in the parade ground rather than in my office.

"Why are we out here?" Aresko asked, he had wondered why Agent Kallus had decided that they should talk here.

SLAM!

The entire wall dividing the Imperial Complex's parade ground from the city itself, buckled under the impact. The small section that was the focus of the direct assault was incapable of withstanding the force impacting it, stone composite shattering and metal supports warping.

Aresko and Glint spun around at the noise and found to their horror the perimeter wall had been ripped through. Dust from the shattered materials floated in the air, limiting visibility.

THUD! THUD!

"Hopefully reducing the collateral damage." Yoyo replied to Aresko's earlier question. He stepped forward as through the dust cloud a figure emerged, the ground beneath his feet cracking at his footsteps.

THUD! THUD!

"WHERE IS MITHRA!!?" The tanned humanoid demanded, his spiky white hair glowing slightly and the air around him tinged with red.

Yoyo sighed again, this time internally, as he walked towards the angry demigod. Aresko and Grint seemed to have a knack for getting themselves involved with dangerous situation where you make a slight mistake and end up with big problems. This time not only had they managed to anger an individual who in his baseline fought against a corrupt regime and a cruel god, and broke them for the most part fighting alone but they had managed to do so while the man himself was Awake. Hopefully he could defuse this situation by leading the man straight to his daughter, releasing her and apologising for his subordinates stupidity.

As he started to speak to the wrathful warrior Yoyo was kind of hopeful that after all of this mess had been cleared up to, well, to the angry father's satisfaction, Asura might agree to a friendly spar in a nearby empty system.

* * *

**34.6     [PokeSpectres]** (numair2304)

"I have to have a pokémon!" The young would-be trainer insisted before Waking up.

"Well, in that case..." Professor Oak said, handing over a pokeball to a now Awake Ezra.

Ezra ran a spot check. Replacing Ash Ketchum, check, name and all; had oversleep, check; turned up late to receive his first Pokémon still wearing his pyjamas, check; the other starters already chosen by others, check as well. And if things were following the baseline there would be a Pikachu waiting inside the pokeball.

The pokeball opened.

Ezra blinked in surprise as the emerging pokémon formed. "That's not what I expected." Ezra admitted.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kanan snorted in a disgruntled fashion as he trotted along the road, the reason for his bad mood a certain Ash Ketchum aka Ezra walking beside him chuckling.

*It's not funny Ezra!* Kanan exclaimed or rather tried to say. What actually came out of his mouth was more like. "Tau-ros-ros-tau!" Causing Ezra to clutch at his side and laugh harder.

Kanan shook his shaggy head and resorted to the Force bond to get his message across.

_|"It's not funny!"|_ Kanan pathed to Ezra.

"But... Kanan!" Ezra wheezed slightly as he calmed down. "It fits so well. You're referred to as the cowboy jedi in the Hub, so it fits that pattern for you to be the Tauros the Bull Pokémon. The other choice would have been Miltank."

Ezra got the image in his head for a moment and started laughing again

Kanan decided to take a page out of the local Anchor's playbook.

ZAP!

"So you know Thunderbolt then." A slightly smoking Ezra coughed as he laid on the ground besides the smug Tauros.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ZAP!

"Scrrrrrrr" The angry bird pokémon screamed a war cry to the heavens.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ZAP!

"We didn't even get to say the motto." One of the twitching trio complained.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ZAP!

"My bike!" A female voice screamed in anger.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ZAP!

In a small clearing in Viridian Forest Ezra admitted his defeat.

"Ok, ok, I get it. You didn't like the joke, just stop."

_|"What?"|_ Kanan replied nonchalantly.

ZAP!

"You know what!" Ezra exclaimed. "You aggravated the Spearow flock making them chase us all the way to Viridian City, when you zapped Team Rocket at the Pokémon centre you hit me at the same time and to cap it all up, you blew Misty's bike up as well."

_|"All I'm doing is maintaining some of the baseline."|_ Kanan innocently explained. _|"You are the Chosen One of this loop. You need stalwart companions."|_

ZAP!

"You blew up her _bike_ ," Ezra stressed the word."Something the looping Misty still complains about to the Awake Ash. Since you blew it up she's been chasing us ever since. If I didn't know for a fact that she's a water trainer I would have thought she or a Pokémon she had was part bloodhound."

_|"Then just buy or give her a new one if you're that desperate to escape her. I'm pretty sure your Pocket can afford it."|_ Kanan suggested in a reasonable tone.

"You broke it, you should be the one to replace it." Ezra asserted to his looping, currently a Pokémon, mentor.

A new voice in the Force bond interrupted their argument.

_|"You know only hearing half the conversation is strange and confusing. We're close now. Send up one more."|_

Kanan concentrated and with a zap sent a streak of lighting into the sky.

_|"Gotcha."|_ The voice called and soon after a Pidgeotto flew down pass the leaf layer, a small Nidoran♀ held gently in its talons. _|"Sorry for the delay. Didn't want to fly too high or fast with my passenger as I'm still getting used to the wings."|_

"No problem at all Hera." Ezra said, watching Hera's wings beat slowly as she carefully lowered her burden to the ground before touching down on the clearing floor beside the poison type. Glancing towards Kanan and Ezra, the Nidoran waved nervously at them. Kanan and Ezra waved back, Kanan painting a curious image as he balanced on three hooves while waving a fourth. Moving over Ezra knelt by the Nidoran.

"Hey Maketh." Ezra smiled kindly at the Poison Pokémon and newest member of their looping family. "I assume Hera's filled you in on some of the details about this loop." Maketh nodded in reply.

"Nid-nid-ran-o-nid." Maketh tilted her head to one side. "O-ran nido-o ran-ran." Maketh unconsciously wriggled her nose in confusion when Ezra didn't reply to her question. Distracted by the unexpected motion she went cross-eyed as she focused on her own shifting snout.

_|"Can someone translate please."|_ Ezra asked his friends.

_|"She said yes but would like to hear more details."|_ Hera explained.

Finished studying her new nasal movements Maketh returned her attention to Ezra still unsure why he wasn't replying.

"I'm afraid that I don't understand the Pokémon language," Ezra explained to Maketh. Maketh mouth opening in a slight oh of understanding. "I'll try my best to learn it during our time here." Ezra considered his choices. The first that sprang to mind were either bribe Meowth for some pointers, work on the Psychic front or get some Aura training. "For now if you need to get anything across talk to Kanan or Hera and they'll relay it ok. As for more details on the current loop, well to start with my name's Ash Ketchum here so if you hear anyone calling me that-"

"Ash Ketchum!" A female voice yelled in triumph spotting its target.

"Like that." Ezra sighed, seeing Misty marching towards him. How did that girl keep finding him?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Travellers on the road leading to Pewter City were met with the sight of an odd party. A Tauros marching down the road with a Pidegotto perched upon its back and beside them a young boy, who was likely the trainer, walking along carrying a Nidoran in his arms. It was unusual to meet a trainer who travelled along with their Pokémon released especially one so young, most observers guessed the age of the boy to be around ten or eleven years. The strangest thing they noticed however was how the group marched along silently, not a murmur from either human or Pokémon. Time passed and complete silence followed the group, complete silence at least for those who weren't part of a Force bond.

_|"So Hera are you enjoying the new wings?"|_ Ezra asked, glanced over at his avian friend.

_|"I will admit that it's strange being the wings rather than piloting the wings."|_ With a slight flap of her brown wings lifting her Hera gracefully pirouetted in the air before alighting back on Kanan's back. _|"Looking forward to pulling a few tricks with them."|_

There was a mumble as a slightly dozing Maketh shifted about in Ezra's arms drawing the trio's attention.

_|"She's so tired."|_ Hera gazed at the slumbering Nidoran, her raptor eyes filled with gentle sadness.

It had been sheer luck that had caused Hera to Awaken in close proximity to the young looper. Maketh hadn't reacted well to finding herself in an unknown location, an unknown setting and to top it off in an unfamiliar body. She had been desperately calling out for an Anchor's assistance when Hera had Awoken, roosting in the treetops above her. Once Hera had flown down and introduced herself, Maketh had calmed down but that underlying anxiety and stress about the circumstances still remained.

_|"Yeah..."|_ Kanan huffed, Ezra silently agreed with him. _|"She is."|_

The bond fell silent as the group got lost in thought.

Since they'd joined up with and started travelling as a group Maketh had been acting calm and collected, insisting that she was coping with her new circumstances and that they didn't have to worry. The problem was that all her words and brave front were absolutely wasted unfortunately on a group that could sense her unguarded emotional state, prominently a rolling mess of unease and weariness. The saddest thing to the group's mind was that Maketh's current unhappy state was still a major improvement on the chaotic whirlwind of fear, pain and despair that had filled the new looper when they first discovered that she was looping.

Ezra stopped walking, coming to a halt staring at the ground. Just ahead Kanan paused in his tread, one hoof off the ground as he realised that Ezra had stopped in his tracks. Kanan turned to gaze at Ezra with a questioning look, Hera on his back mirroring the look. Ezra's mind raced. This was the first time that he had ran into Maketh since their first meeting, the first time since her tearful thanks and quiet goodbye as that loop came to an end. And she was still so young, their latest looper, still coming to grips with the new existence she had found herself a part of. Before Maketh's drifting off to sleep, they had managed to get a few details of her travels from her. Enough to know that she's had only a few loops since their last meeting, which include at least one alternative world loop. Though Ezra hoped that her brief mention of Twilight was about the pony not the series, the Twilight series was a toxic environment for certain individuals. Hopefully Loki would have more details for them.

The important thing was Maketh's state of mind. She was already showing major improvement from the state she had been when Yoyo had first discovered her. Her current slump in this loop was most likely due to the shock of finding herself alone in an unknown location and body. Now that she had some answers and some companions her confidence appeared to be swelling up. Isolation in the loops could turn into a big problem. Ezra mentally acknowledged that deep inside the thing that he held faith in, truly kept him moving was that he would see his friends, his family eventually. If he didn't have that rope to hold onto, if the loops weren't explained to him early on, if he had started to fall into despair, it probably wouldn't have ended well. He refused to let a friend fall like that. Luckily this loop was likely to last a few good years, plenty of time to teach Maketh more about the loops, the looping community, the good things and the bad; all the things that they hadn't had time to in their first loop with her.

_|"Yes she is tired."|_ Ezra agreed, his attention now on his slumbering load. _|"She needs to relax, she needs to know how to make herself feel safe, she needs to learn how to have fun when the pressure gets to her."|_ Ezra raised his head to stare into Kana and Hera's eyes. _|"And we have the time to change that, we can focus on making Maketh's time during this loop enjoyable, relaxing and educational. "|_ He asserted strongly. Hera and Kanan's after a few second's consideration nodded in agreement.

_|"Agreed"|_ Both Kanan and Hera replied in unison, even as they internally acknowledged the struggle ahead of them. The world they were in had its dangers but was also filled with wonders.

At their approval Ezra started walking again. Ezra considered the possibility of making their future journey peaceably uneventful to be slim to nonexistent. Not with the amount of chaos, abilities, powers, evil teams, gods and other things that they would no doubt encounter even with foreknowledge. Still it should be possible to divert some of the more stressful problems ahead of time.

_|"We'll try and smooth out the rough edges."|_ Hera gave voice to his thoughts. _|" So she can relax, she can feel at ease and most importantly have fun. It will be a struggle but we'll have years to work on it."|_

_|"And we hopefully won't be alone in this."|_ Kanan remarked.

Not counting the current group that had been assembled, there were still four more active loopers sending off Pings. Ezra, Hera and Kanan were all hoping that these others would prove to be other members of the Spectres as well.

_|"True."|_ Ezra responded. _|"But even if it turns out that we are, there are still quite a few things we can do. Once Maketh has settled a bit someone should ask about borrowing Loki for a while. He should be able to track down certain individuals and organisations for us, with luck he could uncover enough evidence to bury them before we even get close."|_ Maketh shuffled slightly in Ezra's arms and the Anchor glanced down at his slumbering load. _|"Though conversation going to be a bit awkward to begin with, at least on my part"|_

_|"Have you considered creating a link through the Force with her?"|_ Hera asked.

Ezra and Kanan exchanged a look.

_|"We considered it."|_ Kanan was the first to answer Hera. _|"But there are a few problems with that. First if we established a bridge it would require constant reinforcement to sustain it out side of a Force bond, and strong unfocused emotions would affect it's stability. Second is that we are unsure whether her current state as a poison type would have any effect upon such a link. Poison types are weak to psychic types and sometimes the Force link manifests as somewhat similar to a psychic effect depending on the loop's logic."|_

_|"It might have no adverse effect at all,"|_ Ezra admitted, professing his and Kanan's current lack of knowledge. _|"But we don't know for sure and we really don't want to hurt her. Not right now in her current state. Maybe later if she feels up to it or we find a willing poison type we can run some experiments with it but not right now."|_

Even more silence fell over the group marching towards their destination, more than outward appearances portrayed.

_|"So..."|_ Kanan drawled breaking the silence. He wanted to shift their subject to something a bit more light-hearted and he'd had an idea ever since he come to grips with his pokemonhood. _|"Thinking ahead to any battles we get into. Do you think a lightsaber would count as an Electric move or a Fire move?"|_

_|"Would that even be legal?"|_ Hera, after a quick adjustment to her mental tracks, questioned Kanan. |" _I mean it wouldn't exactly classify as a pokemon Move."|_

Kanan snorted. _|"I don't see why it couldn't be legal. I mean not as a Move but I could declare it as a held item, I know that pokemon are allowed to have one during a battle."|_

_|"I think that the main premise of held items is that they are support devices not superhot lances of plasma that can burn through walls."|_ Ezra stifled a laugh at the thought of the poke referee's face when they had to deal with that problem. |" _I think it would be unlikely to pass regulation. Besides..."| Ezra glanced over Kanan's bovine figure and it's lack of hands. |"How exactly would wield a lightsaber in the first place."|_

_|"Mouth or tail."|_ Kanan simply replied.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Inside the Pewter City Gym, Brock Slate peered through squinted eyes at his latest challenger, the fourth this week hailing from Pallet Town, studying him and his pokemon. Brock glanced to the boy's side where a female Nidoran, a Pidegotto and a Tauros stood next to the the field. It was unusual that the trainer's pokemon were all outside their pokeballs but he pushed that to one side with the thought that everyone had their own style of interaction and training with their pokemon. Brock was happy to see that they all appeared healthy, though he did notice that the Nidoran appeared to be a bit nervous. Maybe a fresh catch unsure of the new circumstances.

"All right! Kanan I choose you!" The kid exclaimed with smirk and with what appeared to be an exasperated snort the Tauros beside him strode onto the battle field.

Brook studied the boy's first choice, a Tauros, a safari zone pokémon was an unusual sight on a first badge challenger's team. Especially since the boy mentioned it was his starter. Brock considered his first choice. Normally a Normal Type and the same Type Moves wouldn't really have any effect on his team, however it was likely that the Tauros knew other Type Moves maybe even a Grass or Water move. Brock's eyes narrowed, best to test the waters with his strongest defence. He pulled back his arm and threw out his pokeball.

"Onix... Go!"

The pokeball opened and released Brock's starter pokémon, a thirty foot snake made of rocks that roared at its opponent.

GA-ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Kanan use Bull-snnrt-doze." The boy snorted, trying to bury a laugh.

"Onix! Use-" Brock's yell cut out as instead of attacking Onix the Tauros wheeled about with an unamused face and launched a bolt of lightning at its trainer.

ZAP!

"Are you ok?" Brock called over, unsure about this state of affairs. On the field Onix also waited, not sure if the battle had stopped or if it was going to continue.

"I'm fine. Somebody just doesn't have much of a funnybone." His challenger replied back to Brock before gazing into his Tauros eyes. After a pause he started talking again, this time to his pokemon. "Ok so you don't know that move then. What moves do you know then?"

There was another pause.

"What do you mean that's the only move you know? Why didn't you mention it earlier!"

And another pause.

"I never asked! That's your excuse! You didn't think it necessary to mention at any point on our journey here that you only knew one move and that it was an Electric one at that. Why is Thunderbolt the only move you know?"

"Um..." Brock looked at the kid loudly arguing with his silent Tauros, both seemingly forgotten the pokémon battle they were supposed to be engaged in. Why did he seem to getting the strange ones today? Earlier today his previous young challenger had turned up driving their own car with an accompanying cheerleading squad and now this. For all he knew his father would turn up next.

"What do you mean dramatic irony!!" The boy yelled in exasperation.

On the sidelines Maketh leant towards Hera.

*Is this how a Pokémon battle usually goes?* Maketh asked Hera confused.

*Not exactly.* Hera held a wing over her beak. *Maybe I should have told Ezra that I know Steel Wing.*

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just after they passed by the last outskirts of Pewter City, Ezra's latest travelling companion spoke up.

"Hey Ash, are you sure it's ok if I go with you on your Pokémon journey?" Brock hesitantly asked. Despite the hiccup at the beginning of the battle with the Tauros, Kanan, Brock had been impressed when after a switch out of the pokémon on the field the boy's Pidegotto, Hera, had managed to etch out a win against his Onix. After the battle his father had suddenly returned, somewhat prepared to take on the management of the Gym and on the spur of the moment Brock asked Ash to accompany him on his journey. Now as they left Pewter City, Brock was unsure whether Ash had felt pressured to accept him along.

Ezra cheerfully grinned at the young man walking beside him. "Please call me Ezra instead, it's my chosen nickname." People calling him Ash didn't feel right to Ezra even with the accompanying memories, from this point he would chose to introduce himself with his chosen moniker. "And yes I'm sure. It's nice to have company on the road."

Hera and Kanan had also been in favour of Brock accompanying them on the journey. He was a wise young man, at least when pretty girls weren't involved, and he would be a good friend on the road, his cooking was something to look forward to as well.

"Ok then, Ezra." Brock used the name with a smile before glancing back down the trail. There he caught a glimpse of the orange haired individual who had been following them for a while. "Talking about company, what about that girl who keeps following you?"

Ezra sighed as a yell came from behind him. Misty had caught up again.

"Don't forget about my bike Ash Ketchum! I'm going to follow you till you pay me back."

"Look! I didn't destroy your bike Kanan did, take it up with him." Ezra yelled back, pointing at the pokémon in question. Kanan just snorted derisively and kept marching along the road, Maketh and Hera perched on his back.

"You won't get away!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Within a forest between Cerulean City and Vermilion City the party came to a stop as at the front of the group Ezra raised a hand to halt their progress before pointing up the path ahead.

"Another trap ahead, though really it's a combination of them. First there's the obvious trip wire there but that's a decoy to distract from the rest. The real trap starts..." His finger moved from the clearly visible wire stretched across the path to a point further up the path. "Where that concealed tripwire is placed before a pit." Moving up the path Ezra stepped over the first wire and hit the ground beyond the second wire with the fallen branch he's fashioned into a crude stick. The ground beneath the strike gave way revealing a hole dug in the ground. "We can skirt around the hole." Ezra indicated towards the revealed pit before turning towards the group following him. "But be careful," he warned, "there are going to be snares planted in the bushes on either side, I'm going to disarm as many as I can but I might miss a few and wait before getting back on the path on the other of the hole. "He waved a hand at the far side of the pit. "In all likelihood there's another trigger on the other side set to release a logfall that will knock anyone back into the pit."   

"How do you even keep spotting these!?" Misty asked flabbergasted, squinting her eyes as she looked ahead to try and spot the possible trap. Ever since they had entered the forest earlier that day they had encountered various traps on their way and in each case Ezra had pointed them out and either disarmed them or avoided them.  .

"Observation mostly but also a bit of familiarity." Ezra absently commented before moving forward slowly whilst prodding at the triggers. As the snares snapped away with nothing caught Ezra considered the whole setup. The various trap placements, the methods used and especially the subtle markings on the trail were all familiar to him. Familiar as in he had used such methods himself whilst on Lasan fighting against the Empire's occupation as part of the local resistance. Unless it was all a major coincidence there was a friend up ahead, guarding something.

As Misty followed, watching carefully where she put her feet, she thought back to the last few weeks. Her first meetings with Ezra and his pokémon had had a rocky start mainly due to the destruction of her bike though it had been very amusing to watch, Misty smiled as she recalled, a downcast Ezra and Kanan murmuring apologies (she assumed the Tauros had been apologising) about her bike whilst Hera gazed at them sternly, the Pidegotto hovering in the background. Part of Misty was still upset about her bike but at least they had apologised about it rather than continue to push the blame on to each other.

Her decision to travel alongside had been cemented after the Gym Battle in Cerulean City. She had assumed that Ezra's victory against Brock had been somewhat a lucky win seeing how he and his Tauros interacted. She had been surprised by the results after she had revealed herself as one of the Gym leaders and challenged him to a battle. Hera had defeated her Staryu and Kanan her Starmie, though she still didn't understand when the Tauros had picked up a psychic move (Kanan had used the Force, something Hera scolded him about later, to lift the water pokémon sent against him into the air before zapping it unconscious.) The fights had been displayed an intriguing use of skill and tactics, even the interruption of Team Rocket part way through their match had been dealt with efficiently and quickly allowing the match to continue, and throughout the match Ezra had only given a few orders instead he seemed to trust his current battler to choose their own batting method. A tactic that appeared to pay dividends. She wanted that for her team. Misty's dream was to be a Water-type Pokémon Master, she needed to improve as a trainer and sticking with the group as they travelled Kanto seemed to be good step on that path.

Ahead of her and standing well to one side Ezra threw a sizeable stone on the path. There was a snap and Misty couldn't suppress a jerk of shock when a large log swung down from where it had been hidden in the treetops. Just as Ezra said, it would have been a nasty surprise for anyone who thought the pit was the last of the obstacles. As she watched the log swing back and forth Misty was even more glad that she had joined the group. If she had been travelling on her own here, she didn't like to think how many of these traps she would have fallen into. All in all joining up with this group was becoming quite the enjoyable experience. It would be nice if her bike was replaced one day but for now she wanted to remain with her friends.

Stepping back on the path beyond, Ezra tensed as he felt something in the air shift. The creak of a branch, a movement in the air, a whisper of a threat in the Force and Ezra was whipping his stick around to catch the incoming blow.

CRUNCH

The stick gave slightly under the impact but withstood the blow. In the background Ezra could dimly hear cries of shock from the humans in the group. Despite the sudden attack Ezra couldn't help smiling, at this close proximity there was no mistaking the presence next to him. His eyes shifted from the bone club he had defended against to its wielder.

"Hey Yoyo!" Startled eyes behind a bone mask met his laughing ones. "Fancy seeing you here."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Standing on a balloon-lifted platform hovering over the Hidden Village, a place for injured or abandoned pokémon, the Team Rocket trio, Jessie, James and Meowth, laughed gloatingly before they started their motto.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie began.

"Make it dou-" James was interrupted.

*BONEMERANG!*

A flurry of bone projectiles impacted the platform and its supporting balloons resulting in an explosion that blasted the Rocket trio off into the distance.

"Again!" Meowth spat the word in complaint as he flew alongside his two companions. Ever since they ran into the twerp and his pokémon they had been sent flying before they accomplished anything. "We still didn't get to finish the motto!"

Back on the ground Maketh turned to Hera.

*I thought you said they were obsessed with Pikachu in the baseline. Why are they even following us?*

Her only reply was an unknowing shrug.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

A slight breeze blew through the glade creating ripples in the small lake it contained, the bordering meadow's grass waving alongside. Sitting on the ground, the sound of the rustle of the grass and the lapping of the water a soothing melody, Ezra found himself enjoying the tranquil surroundings. The Force surrounding the glade echoed with feelings of peace, content and security. Not surprising as the Hidden Village was ran by a kind girl called Melanie as a sanctuary for abandoned pokémon, a place for them to rest until they were ready to return to the wild.

A little distance away from the resting Anchor the girl in question was working as she checked on the small populations welfare. Working alongside her Brock successfully aided her with her task whilst his various attempts to flirt with her failed miserably. Hovering behind the duo Misty hid a smile at Brock's issue. His compliments towards the girl just washed over her head while she thanked him for the bits of advice towards the pokémon's care.

*Ahem!* Came a polite cough from beside Ezra.

"Ready to leave then Yoyo." Ezra rose to his feet from where he had been sitting, turning towards the individual in question.

The Cubone stood to attention nodded.

*Yes. I've established a decent defensive perimeter and trained any willing volunteers to help defend the area.* Yoyo said, Hera nearby acting as a relay. *With both of those in place I don't have to worry about their continued security.*

Behind a helmet of bone, keen eyes gazed around at the Hidden Village for one last time. He had been its protector ever since he'd Awoken, now it was time to move on. His initial reunion with the Spectres might have been slightly awkward since he had unknowingly launched an attack on Ezra while trying to defend the village. But after that mistake had been sorted introductions with the group composed of non-loopers and loopers had gone well. His gaze softened as he recollected. Introductions including a nervous Nidoran that hesitantly waved at him in welcome. It seemed to Yoyo that a shift from a village's guard to a guardian would be the right choice in his future. He wouldn't be alone either, not including the rest of the looping Spectres, Ezra had mentioned to him that they would meeting up with both Zeb and Sabine soon.

*It's time to move on.* Yoyo said.

"Nice to have you with us Yoyo." Ezra replied wholeheartedly.

As the group left the village, Brock dragged somewhat by Misty, Ezra nudged Kanan.

"Another one to add to the rodeo." He quipped cheerfully.

Kanan sighed as he walked along. Ever since Pallet Town, Ezra had been making cattle themed puns. Kanan had gotten his measure of revenge for them already but the problem was Ezra hadn't stopped yet.

_|"Hera do you mind?"|_ Kanan wearily asked.

_|"Of course not Kanan."|_ Hera replied sincerely. The jokes had been amusing to begin with but now the whole matter was becoming annoyingly stale, especially since Ezra had run out of original material after Mt Moon.

"Wait- what!?" Ezra overhearing the broadcasted conversation and realising the consequences jerked away too late.

ZAP!

"Hera!" Whined Ezra from the ground. "Why have you betrayed me?"

Walking alongside Yoyo couldn't help smiling at his friends antics, especially when he could hear Maketh giggling at them as well.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In a clearing, a solitary Machop stood upon a rock as the group approached.

"So should we ask what happened to Damien?" Ezra asked the Machop. Behind him a few confused looks were shared.

"Who's Damien?" Misty whispered. Beside her, Brock shrugged to convey his lack of knowledge..

Zeb frowned in displeasure at the memory of his former trainer which shifted to a grin as he recalled how it ended.

"That spoilt arrogant brat?" Zeb spoke aloud with passable ease. "He became acquainted with a trash bin head first." Zeb huffed. "Best place for a trash trainer."

"You can talk!?" *You can talk!?* Pokemon and humans echoed in unison.

Zeb took in their shocked faces and snorted with good humour,

"Kids, I speak more languages than the rest of you combined." Zeb bluntly stated. It was technically true at the moment as Sabine hadn't joined up with the rest of the group yet.

_|"I can understand it as well, like this and as normal_."| Zeb explained in an aside to his fellow Force users. Hera and Kanan whispering the message along to those out of the loop, Maketh and Yoyo. _|"Being fluent while not a Pokémon is practically impossible, the language relies somewhat on their bio-energies and aura."|_

"Nuts!" Ezra hissed under his breath. That was a bit of a disappointment. He had been hoping that while learning to understand the pokémon language, he would also learn to speak with it allowing him to hold conversations with Maketh and Yoyo without worrying about being overheard. If it was practically impossible for Zeb and his linguistic skills then there was zero chance of him learning it, not during the loop itself. On the bright side with with addition of Zeb to their group, it increased the likelihood of learning to understand what was being spoken by the average pokémon. Hopefully Zeb wouldn't mind doing some tutoring. Of course, Ezra realised, he probably wouldn't be the only student. The rest of the loopers would most likely want be taught the opposite, to allow themselves to be understood without the need for a relay system. Kanan and Hera had tried to speak normally at the start but what came out of their mouths was always pure Pokémon, optimistically Zeb could resolve their issue.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

As he walked along the path talking to their new companion, Zeb, Brock could feel his temper taking a turn for the worst.

At first he had been delighted to make Zeb's acquaintance, once he'd gotten over the mystery of the initial meeting. Not the fact that Zeb could talk. No, the concept of a Pokemon who could speak beyond their natural vocabulary wasn't really a new concept for him, not after encountering that talking Meowth who popped up now and again with Team Rocket. The fact that Zeb had been apparently waiting for them to arrive and Ezra had not been surprised to see him. That had the mysterious part. Though, Brock considered, ever since joining up with Ezra and his Pokémon on their journey there had always been some mystery about them. Glances between them that appeared to convoy more, periods when Ezra seemed to zone out slightly, times when the pokémon reacted without Ezra saying anything. It was possible Ezra was psychic and was actually talking mentally with his pokémon, if that was the case a small part of Brock did wonder why Ezra kept it a secret. Well no matter, it wasn't really important and it wasn't his secret. It wasn't hurting anyone.

With a notebook prepared Brock had struck up a conversation with Zeb, to take advantage of getting firsthand information from an original source. The chance of being able to question a pokémon personally about their likes and dislikes was a goldmine for a natural caretaker like Brock who prioritized other's health and welfare before his own. Zeb had happily started answering questions and during the walk they had shifted through topics like preferred diet, the pitfalls new trainers should look out for with Fighting-types, the Pokémon language itself. On that topic one of Brock's hopes had been blunted slightly by Zeb's answer. One of the worst things when dealing with a sick or injured pokémon was that it was not always obvious what was wrong. The ability to question the patient about what was wrong would be a godsend. Zeb's reply that it was a most likely an unattainable skill if you weren't already a pokémon was a blow to that idea, though Brock still held on to a slim hope. Even if he wasn't able to learn the language completely, if he could learn enough to get the gist of what the speaker were trying to impart, well that combined with the pokémon's own body language might get the point across.

Brock's usual calm and patient nature had slowly shifted into a silent frigid outrage after the shifting conversation had segued during a discussion about the relationship between trainer and pokémon in which Zeb referenced his former trainer Damian as an example of a bad trainer. Brock listened in disbelief as Zeb recounted the arrogant trainer's methodology, how he caught pokémon, didn't bother training them and if he considered them weak abandoned them without a care.

"I mean he bragged about the size of his collection but he had no clue of the best way to utilize or improve as a trainer for them." Zeb expounded on the man's shortcomings. "The braggart used a freshly caught Water-type to battle a wild Grass-type and couldn't understand why the Water-Type was having some problems. The idiot claimed that his pokémon was too weak despite having a natural weakness to its opponent, he started to blame them for how the battle went. When he started to order them to leave, in a location with no nearby water sources to possibly dry out. That's when I decided that was enough, I wasn't staying with the trash any longer."

"I see..." Brock gritted out slightly in agreement with Zeb. A trainer who couldn't recognise his own flaws, who couldn't conceive of improving their methods, who would abandon their pokémon to a hostile environment without major cause; such a person didn't deserve a pokémon. "Still what about the rest of them?" Brock asked, the anger in him temporally swamped by worry. Zeb might have left on his own accord but the rest of Damian's pokemon were still in his substandard care. "The other pokémon Damian had. If he could treat one like that, then what about the rest? It might be best to inform the local Jenny about his habits just on case." Brock's emotion turned much more light-hearted as he thought about the officers of the law. Surely such angels of justice would crack down on such an individual.

Zeb waved an offhand hand.

"No real worry about that, it's already taken care of. After introducing the brat to his new home." A particular full trash bin that Zeb had taken time to locate, ignoring Damian's yells to release him. "I took the time to impart my views on his character to the rest of his pokémon and suggested to them that jumping ship was a good idea when dealing with such a disreputable vessel."

"Good." Brock stated.

"Yeah I thought so. A good many of them took the warning well and choose to make a fresh start their own way." Zeb huffed in annoyance. "Though a few were a bit too loyal for their own good and stayed with him. It might be worth mentioning him to the local authorities so they keep an eye out for problems."

"Hey!! Machop!!" Came a yell.

Raising his head Brock realised that they had arrived at the local Pokemon Center and exiting the building came a blue haired man, shades on his hair marching angrily towards their group. Could that be...

"What did you do with my collection!!"

That final yell from the man, directed as it was towards Zeb, cemented the growing suspicion in Brock's head.

"I take it that's..." Brock asked Zeb to confirm.

"Yep, that's Damian." Zeb sighed.

"Good." Brock stated firmly as he stepped forward. He wanted to have words with this trainer.

While a incandescent Brock tore strips off the quickly cowering Damian, Ezra edged over to his friend.

"You know I was expecting you to be a Fairy or a Dragon type." As Zeb turned to stare at Ezra, he quickly explained. "You know, your Dragon Slaying magic. Dragon or Fairy would seem to fit the theme more than the Fighting-type."

Zeb raised an eye ridge. "You believe there's a theme?"

"Maybe." Ezra edged uncertainly. "There does seem to be some slight link between the Pokémon species and the looper. "Kanan's referred to as a coyboy jedi and he's a bovine pokémon. Hera loves to fly and she's a Flying-type. Yoyo's wearing what is essentially a white helmet and the club he's holding wasn't his to begin with." Ezra clarified his impressions, indicating each named looper in turn. "I'm expecting Sabine's species to relate to explosions or painting in some way since she refuses to tell us ahead of time and if Chopper's around I'm guessing a Electric or Metal type."

Zeb noticed that he had left someone out.

"And what's your theory for Maketh?" Zeb asked, lowering his voice to ensure the person in question didn't overhear. Off to the side he noticed Yoyo shift towards them, he probably wanted to hear Ezra's answer too.

Ezra's face twisted slightly.

"I'm not happy about the idea but she might be a Posion-type because she was assassinated and poison is an assassin's tool." Ezra

"Right." Zeb muttered quietly. Not something they wanted to bring up to the young looper. Restoring his voice to normal volume, Zeb jumped tracks on the conversation to an earlier station. "You know I think the term dragon slaying is a bit of a misnomer. Yes, the magic can kill a dragon, that's why it was developed but that's not all there is to it. It was devised as a way for humans to fight on the same level as dragons, using their own approach to magic. Dragon Style Magic seems a better term than Dragon Slaying. As for the Type it feels right to me." He held up a fist. "My fists have always been my preference."  

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sabine tilted her head slightly in concentration as another stroke of paint was added to her latest work.

Since Awakening in this loop she had tested the basics of her new abilities, investigating her current limits but this... After some more consideration a few more brush strokes were added. This was something she was evaluating for her own satisfaction, how a new form would affect her art. Would her joy of creation be tempered by the new limits that the altered body imparted to her? So far it seemed inconsequential, her new form offered a new perspective to her art, a change on how she thought and definitely a new way of going about it especially with the twist that the paint brush was a part of her.

Sabine stepped back for a moment to study her present work painted upon her current blank canvas, an unused rock face.

A rolling sea, its waves broken by a sea serpent breaching from the depths, and in the sky above, a firebird with wings spread wide as it appeared to dive from the scorching sun high above. Two elements shown in contrast, water and fire. Where the fiery sky and turbulent sea met was a blend of greens, blues and oranges, each seeming to struggle for dominance but the real draw was the creatures themselves. A glimpse of power, of nobility, of divinity and the question of how each viewed the other. Did they view themselves as determined adversaries, drawn to conflict by the elements they seemed to embody, as guardians of their element, protectors of realms under their aegis, or as nothing more than passengers in the night, a brief encounter that would register briefly but with no long lasting effect. A good painting could inspire many thoughts and Sabine felt this recent effort fit the bill.

Behind her, the rustle of passage through the long grass was interspersed by the crunch of loose stone under foot.

"I'll be with you in a minute." Sabine cheerfully called over her shoulder to the encroachers not bothering to turn and identify them before turning her attention back to the painting. Normally she would check to confirm their intentions especially in recent days when some people had been trying to sneakily capture her but in this case Sabine recognised most of the presences behind her as familiar bar a few exceptions.

"Another one that speaks like Zeb!?" An exclamation and a question at the same time in a surprised female voice. "First that talking Meowth, then Zeb. We seem to be running into them one after another."

"Travelling with this group I'm not surprised." A calmer male voice replied, a trace of resigned good humour in his voice. " People usually have to battle wild pokémon to get them to join their team but I fully expect this young lady will join up with no such hassle."

"Why Brock, you wound me with such accusations." Ezra chirped in feigned shock, Sabine grinning at his tone.

"Yes, yes, Ezra, his pokémon, their interactions and secrets are an living enigma that continue to surprise." Misty dismissed the issue as an unimportant truth. "What I would like to know is what type of pokémon is that." Sabine guessed that Misty was pointing at her. "I don't recognise it."

"Not that surprising since I believe that's a Smeargle and they're not native to this region." Brock's voice replied.

A few finishing touches and Sabine was satisfied with her work. Turning she greeting her friends and their travelling companions.

"Nice to see you all." Directed at her long time friends.

"Glad to make your acquaintance." Directed towards Brock and Misty

"Hey Maketh." Sabine smiled warmly at the youngest of their loopers. "Good to see you."

The Nidoran waved back cheerfully. *Nice to see you as well Sabine.*

Greetings and introductions returned in kind, and afterwards Sabine gave them a tour of her recent works which the group were happy to observe. Misty enjoyed the scene of water and fire that Sabine just completed, admiring the ocean though she was slightly disappointed when it was explained to her that the sea serpent portrayed didn't exist in the world as a pokémon.

"So you're a Smeargle." Ezra voiced the fact alone. He thought that the Painter Pokemon did seem a good fit for the artistic Mandalorian.

"Nope!" Sabine exclaimed merrily, amused at Ezra's sudden confused expression. Still chuckling she shifted the image of her held form and shrunk down. Soon a blue blob was in the same spot waving a blue tendril at Ezra.

"A blue Ditto!?" Weren't Dittos supposed to be pink. "Are you the Shiny equivalent?"

"I assume so." Sabine continued to talk. Her change into a blue blob not appearing to affect her linguistic skills. " I performed a few trials with the transformations and it seems as long as I have a decent mental picture and knowledge of the object in question, I transform myself into a decent facsimile which means..."

Sabine focused on a particular image. Her body grew and shifted into a more familiar form, the single blue tone altering into a variety of different colours adding more detail. When the transformation finished the normal Sabine stood before Ezra dressed in her usual armour, helmet absent with a smile on her revealed face.

"I can do this." Sabine announced to a stunned Ezra. Her hair started to shift colours. "It's pretty cool, I can actively alter my outer colouring."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sitting down in a group Hera, Maketh and Sabine were catching up.

*So Maketh, how are you finding this world?*

*It's different.* Maketh replied after some thought. Observing curious, expectant faces, she struggled to explain more of what she meant. *I mean the Pokémon species and their abilities, some of the technology that exists on this world are beyond what we would find at home.* She paused for a breath as she considered how to phrase the next bit. "But the thing I find truly strange after spending time here is how they think only in the terms of this one world. I admit that it was shock finding myself in a different body when I Awoke but it wasn't the first time and it won't be the last.*

*Definitely not the last.* Hera laughed, Sabine joining in. *Remind me to tell you some stories about genderbent loops."

"Right..." Maketh nervously said, a bit of warning would probably be a good thing, before rallying. *But as I was saying the people here, pokémon and human alike, view this world as their limit, as their only place that can be home, they have no real access to space and other worlds. They think only in terms of this one world, they have no greater knowledge of the galaxy around them. But at home we can travel most of the galaxy, can interact with a multitude of cultures and planetary bodies. It just seems such a contrast.*

*I get what you mean." Sabine thought over Maketh's words. * This world appears cut apart from the rest of the universe. There are a few pokémon that are travel the interstellar distances but it's not a common or even a well-known feat.*

*It's a common feature with quite a lot of loops that they focus on a single world or region.* Hera mused. *There are loops that have a similar or larger breadth of worlds compared to our own. With the amount of possibilities that such a spread allows in some respects we're lucky that our loop is somewhat peaceful.*

*Peaceful?* Maketh questioned in confusion. The Empire was a constant threat to the rebels, to her now looping self during the loops.

*I mean peaceful compared to others.* Hera explained. *We're not having to worry about constant interstellar warfare, worlds constantly being burned to glass or genocide on a galactic scale. At least not at out point in the timeline.*

Hera turned to Sabine.

*And speaking of timeline while I'm sure there is quite the story behind why you are the leader of the Squirtle Squad.*

*What can I say," Sabine polished her knuckles on her chest before admiring them. *The lads respect talent.*

*Yeah we'll talk about that later but what I'm curious about is why they appear to have picked up the local title of firefighters earlier than in baseline.* Hera studied the four sunglass wearing Squirtles hovering nearby. They appeared to watching the nearby forest and muttering to each other.

*Oh that.* Sabine didn't dent her part. *While I was waiting for everybody to turn up, I decided to teach my shelled students the basics of seals and occasionally there would be a mistake that needed dosuing.*

THUMP!

Everybody in the area felt the ground shake. In the distance a pillar of smoke started to rise in the forest. The Squirtle Squad gave a excited cheer before shaking each other's hands.

*Or a complete success in the case of their recent study into explosive seals.* Sabine gave the self-congratulatory Squirtle Squad a thumbs up of approval before they mobilised into the forest. On the way, most likely Hera considered, to extinguish whatever blaze had ignited upon detonation of their latest creation crafted under Sabine's tutelage.

*So that's your excuse.* Hera sighed wearily.

Maketh glanced with wide eyes between the wide-grinned Sabine and the rising smoke.

*What can I say!* Sabine laughed unrepentantly. *Art can be an explosion!*

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lt. Surge, Vermilion City's Gym leader, looked over at his opponent, snorting in disdain at what he beheld. Another baby attempting to challenge him accompanied by their weak pokémon. A bit strange to see them outside their balls but it gave him an unrivalled opportunity to see what the child had on hand. He wasn't impressed. Most of the boy's pokémon were un-evolved, the only one evolved was the Pidegotto but that wasn't even fully evolved and would be weak to electricity. Unless the baby was completely stupid that Pidegotto would end up on the field at all but since the boy hadn't evolved any of his other pokémon it was likely that he was that stupid.

"So baby, you're my next challenger. My electric Pokemon are the best! There's still time to run back to your mother! Do you still want to try me?" Surge yelled, looming over the field.

"Yes sir." Came a calm and collected reply from the child.

Surge blinked slightly in surprise before raising his evaluation of the baby by a slight fraction. _'Ok so maybe a bit of steel in this one.'_ In the end it would make no difference, the boy had no evolved pokémon to battle with and therefore lacked the necessary power to seize victory.

"So the pint-sized has some courage! You've got some big and brassy nerves to take me on with your puny power! The challenge will be one on one!" Surge barked. "Only by defeating my chosen pokémon will you win."

"Ok," The baby agreed before turning around and, in front of Surge's disbelieving eyes, asked. "Who wants to fight here?"

Surge shook his head in disgust. A Pokémon battle was war. It required soldiers not civilian volunteers.

"Baby!" Surge hollered. "Don't ask, order! Or I'll make the choice for you! Maybe that puny Nidoran!"

There was a shift on the other side of the field but to Surge's surprise the boy wasn't the first to react. Instead the boy's Cubone moved to place between Surge and the Nidoran, eyes glaring at him behind the skull cap. _'Protective ain't he.'_ Surge glared back and was amused to see the Cubone hold his ground. The Ground-Type would probably be the one sent out, its typing would give it protection against his Gym's signature Type, wouldn't help it win though his Raichu was powerful enough to win against a Ground-Type.

"Ok Yoyo, it's your fight." The boy said and the Cubone stepped forward.

Surge smiled to himself, just as he suspected.

"Dahaha!" Surge broke out laughing. "A Type Advantage doesn't guarantee victory kid." Surge smirked as. Just as he guessed the baby,  like every newbie, thought that by using a pokémon with a Type advantage would result in the gym being a cake walk. They found themselves quickly mistaken

"Go Raichu!" Surge released his pokémon in the field. Raichu studied his opponent and dismissed the Cubone as any threat.

The match began.

"Raichu, Body Slam!" Surge ordered.

WHACK! SLAM!

Surge blinked slowly in dumbfounded shock and turned to where Raichu had impacted the interior wall with force, placing him out of bounds as well as knocking the Mouse Pokémon unconscious. Turning back he gazed in open mouthed disbelief at the solitary pokémon remaining on the field. It had been so fast. A blur of speed, the Cubone disappearing from its spot to appear directly before Raichu, its club already smashing into the Electric Mouse sending it flying with a crack. Surge had nearly been subjected to the same kind of forceful collision, the airborne Raichu closely brushing past him on its journey with the wall.

"What just happened?" Surge asked the world in general, his mind still reeling.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The Rocket Trio blocked the path before the group. In his paws Meowth held tightly onto a struggling Maketh.

"Alright twerps, no funny business, no tricks. We're going to finish the motto whether you like it or not." Meowth stared at the group as a grin slowly growing on his face as they acquiesced. The twerps, for once, were a captive audience.

"Prepare for trouble." Jessie hurriedly started to say.

Meowth blinked as his vision wavered and the ground seemed to shift under his feet. He didn't feel too good.

"Make it double." James continued the motto, not noticing his feline companion's disposition

"To protect the-"

"Uhhh..." Meowth couldn't help groaning out loud, interrupting Jessie's next line.

"Meowth!" Jessie snarled. "Stop messing around!"

"Sorry!" Meowth apologised, swaying on his paws. "But... Uhhh.... I don't feel so good."

Meowth fell over and Maketh finding herself free, bolted towards her friends.

"Got her!" James seized the escaping Nidoran before sagging himself. "Uhhh...."

Jessie grabbed Maketh from his arms.

"James stop fooling about and...uhhh!"

All three Rockets were now afflicted with the same condition and with no more hindrances blocking her path Maketh gladly reunited with her friends.

"What happened to them?" Ezra wondered, indicating the groaning Rockets.

"I think Maketh might have the Poison Point ability." Brock hedged as an answer. "It was only after touching her that they started to show any symptoms."

Maketh turned worried eyes towards the Rockets, yes they had scared her but she didn't want to kill by accident.

"It's ok." Brock's kind voice sounded above her and Maketh found him watching her. The man wisely guessing at her thoughts. "Such a small dose won't be dangerous and it will soon filter out of their systems. Until that time they'll just feel sick."

"Let's drag them to the nearest Pokémon Center and call the police about them." Sabine suggested, receiving nods of agreement.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"So only one Ping left now." Ezra mused.

"I know." Sabine twisted in place to view everyone. "If the last one is Chopper, what pokémon do you think he is?"

There was some thought.

*I would think Chopper would be an Electric type.* Maketh guessed without hesitation. She was building more self-confidence as their journey continued.

*Magnemite maybe.* Hera suggested. The Electric and Metal type could be a fit for Chopper.

*Porygon.* Was Kanan's prediction. A pokemon at home in the real world and cyberspace seemed to match their droid.

"Might not even be a pokemon, could be a human." Zeb speculated.

"Gastly." Ezra postulated to everyone's surprise. He answered the question in their eyes. "Look I know that a Ghost/Posion Type doesn't seem to fit the theme but I'm going by what Chopper likes.

_'Ah.'_ The loopers collectively realised where Ezra was going.

"A Ghost Pokemon known for pranks seems a fit for him." Ezra concluded.

Their conversation was brought to a screeching halt when the ground beneath their feet disappeared, replaced by a drop onto a white floor.

SPLAT!

The group splashed down into a pool of cream-coloured fluid with the texture of frogspawn. Luckily or maybe on purpose the pool of liquid wasn't too deep, only a couple of feet. Rising to his feet Ezra spat out whatever the fluid was, he had had his mouth when he landed. He paused as the taste registered but before he could Sabine spoke up.

"Is this tapioca pudding!?" Her resumed form of a blue blob asked, the shock before having broken her focus.

Ezra looked up and found a portal inside a gold ring floating in the air above them, glimpses of tree branches waving in a  breeze occasionally coming into sight on the edges of the portal.

The shocked silence was broken by loud laughter, everyone's attention was drawn to the pokémon convulsed by laughter, an individual that those with the right senses recognised as Chopper.

"You guys should have seen all your faces." Guffawed Chopper as he floated in the air nearby.

"Well," Zeb admitted after a pause, taking in Chopper's form for this loop. "Looks like Ezra was the closest with his guess. Chopper is part Ghost-Type."

Ezra groaned slightly as he recalled his earlier guess of Gastly for Chopper due to his love of pranks. He wondered now if that guess had been him tempting fate as he was now faced with the chief prankster of the Spectres replacing the Mythical Mischief Pokémon, Hoopa. Chopper Hoopa or Hoopa Chopper, whatever they wanted to term themselves, continued to cackle with glee at his successful introduction to the group keeping in full accordance to the traditions of pranking.

By the edge of the pool Kanan dropped his load of Maketh and Hera off, beyond the confines of the pool on the dry ground.

*Do you think this counts as a boon,* Kanan waved a hoof towards the still chuckling Mythical Pokémon, *or a snag.*

Hera shook her wings, trying to dislodge the sticky pudding from her feathers.

*Ask me later.* Hera growled. *When I feel less like disassembling a certain droid. Chopper!*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 34.1: The moment I heard the minions line, my mind jumped straight to the little yellow guys.
> 
> 34.2: No idea what sparked this, found it buried in a bunch of ideas.
> 
> 34.3: Why do hidden messages always contain important or cryptic information rather than to-do lists or diaries. 
> 
> 34.4: Inspired by a very old episode (1970s! I must of seen a rerun because there's no way I saw the original broadcast) of the UFO series that I caught a glimpse off once.
> 
> 34.5: I think there needs to be more Asura in the Infinite Loops.
> 
> 34.6: A brief dive into the Pokemon verse. 
> 
> Kanan = Tauros, Hera = Pidegotto, Maketh = Nidoran♀, Yoyo = Cubone, Zeb = Machop, Sabine = Ditto, Chopper = Hoopa


	35. TCAoaTTP 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Make a Connection, Rules, Warriors, Fade, Wings of the Master

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Speech" : Normal speech  
> 'Speech' : Internal thoughts  
> |"Speech"| : Force bond, telepathy  
> ["Speech"] : Droid  
> {"Speech"} : Computer text

**35.1     [Make a Connection]** (numair2304)

"You have to make a connection-"

"Sometimes you have to disconnect first."

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"We have to make a connection!"

Ezra glanced at his panicking master before turning his attention back to the map displayed on the wall.

"Well, if I'm reading the map right we take the Circle Line to Paddington." Ezra pointed at the labelled station. "Get off there and switch to the Hammersmith & City Line following it..." His finger moved along the pink line. "Until we arrive at Latimer Road, disembark and walk the last bit."

Ezra looked around at the various signs festooning the walls of the underground passage. There was a rumble, a clatter and a howl of wind as a train entered the platform and passed through on its way to another stop. Ezra spotted the sign he was looking for

"The Circle Line is this way, come on master." He said, dragging Kanan along.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connection-"

"What exactly do you mean by a connection?" A non-Awake Ezra asked sarcastically.

"Connection: a relationship in which a person or thing is linked or associated with something else." Kanan read aloud from a dictionary he had seemly produced from nowhere.

"Where did you get that book from?" Ezra looked at the book in confusion.

Kanan smiled, entertained by his student's confusion. "I think you should pay more attention to your assigned task."

Ezra scoffed at him before turning back to his assignment. The youth then dived to the side with a yelp, dodging the hissing ball of fur, claws and teeth that pounced towards him.

Kanan watched on with amusement.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connection-"

"Hey twerps, how's it going?"

Kanan and Ezra halted their rote repetition as the interrupting voice and the accompanying Ping sounded off in their vicinity. At first there was no sign of the broadcaster but then a figure faded into sight revealing a small cream-coloured feline standing upright upon its back two paws.

Kanan and Ezra tensed slightly and started surreptitiously checking the surroundings as they recognised the Scratch Cat Pokémon, Meowth, part of the Team Rocket Trio. If Meowth was here, there was a decent chance that the rest of the trio could be around.

The TRT were well known for habitually ambushing loopers with elaborate traps and schemes. Their home Anchor claimed that the trio didn't intend any real harm to their targets, that the trio were reverting to the basics whenever they felt pressured by the life they found themselves in, but it still meant that occasionally loopers found themselves caught in a trap or an ambush when any member of the TRT revealed themselves. Some loopers viewed the TRT at such times as an annoyance, others as a fun diversion but no matter the view loopers regarded the trio's antics as a challenge. Their traps altered to match, not only a loopers original abilities, but anything they had picked up along the way.

Kanan recalled an account of a DC run where the trio had used a combination of mystical and technical neutralisers, hidden in the background, to weaken the bulk of that particular loop's line-up of the Justice League to the extent that the trio were able to catch them with simple rope nets. And that included the Bat who brought a new meaning to incandescent fury. The Black Knight's temper probably hadn't been improved by the trio's eventual defeat by Plastic Man who had been the only member to avoid their traps and sent them flying off, especially not when later into the loop the trio hand-delivered a gift basket, that included a congratulations note for being a splendid adversary, to a surprised and soon-delighted Plastic Man. The fact that the delivery took place upon the League's Watch Tower satellite during the Bat's personal watch and he was unable to prevent the trio's invasion and subsequent escape afterwards didn't help.

On Lothal's plain Meowth stood causally before the two local loopers waiting for a reply to his question. Ezra and Kanan despite some shared worries relaxed slightly as nothing else appeared to happen. The rest of the trio could be hiding nearby but so far there was no sign of an ambush, and more importantly no attempt at the motto.

"Hey Meowth." Ezra waved his hand in welcome. "Everything's going well, we even managed to get ourselves a new looper." Ezra's hand dropped and his gaze turned sharp as he cautioned the Pokémon. "She's been through a few things so keep her out of any schemes you and your friends are hatching, at least until she had time to find her feet. Understand."

Meowth gazing at Ezra's eyes saw the determined resolve behind them, mentally acknowledged the threat there and then waved a dismissive claw at the Anchor.

"No worries on dat score at de moment. I'm on my own here, Jessie and James aren't around. Next time I see dem I'll spread the word about how ya new nestlin' is off limits for now."

"Good to hear." Ezra replied, shifting into a slight smile.

"What do you want Meowth?" Kanan asked. He was more at ease since it seemed he didn't have to worry about ambushes in the future, at least ones not including the usual Empire schemes or Spectres pranks.

Meowth dropped his dismissive act and shuffled slightly, looking unsure.

"Do youse guys mind if I hang around with ya crew?" Meowth asked quietly.

"What?" Kanan and E zra echoed.

Meowth shuffled some more.

"I mean I can go all lone tiger on-"

"Don't you mean 'lone wolf'?" Ezra interrupted Meowth.

"Who's talkin' here!" Meowth stared askance at Ezra. "Anyways I'm a cat, not a dog. So if I'm runnin' solo, I'm going to be a mighty jungle hunter not a lost puppy." The three foot feline drew himself up as he muttered. "Anyways as I was sayin' I haven't Jessie and James for a few loops and while it's bin fun being independent I kinda miss being part of a group."

Ezra and Kanan exchanged a glance.

"I take it you don't consider the Empire as a career choice." Kanan's tone implied otherwise.

"Dey might not be the brightest bunch and given enough time I could set myself up nice but da Empire rarely recruits individuals of my disposition." Meowth huffed in annoyance.

"Height?" Ezra suggested with a grin.

"Ah, shaddup!" Meowth brushed off the jest with good-hearted amusement, a slight fanged grin echoing Ezra's. "You know what I mean. I'm not human, not even close. Most of them would be more likely to see me as just a house pet. Say what you like about Team Rocket's flaws but at least they were equal opportunists. So what do you say, does your crew need a cat burglar?" Meowth quipped.

Ezra and Kanan met each other's gaze, exchanging a non-verbal discussion before coming to an accord.

"Yeah, fine with us." Ezra turned back to the Pokémon,  nodding in acceptance to Meowth. "Hera's also Awake but everyone else isn't. Should be interesting to see how the rest react to you."

Walking back towards the Ghost, Meowth decide to share some tales of past loops.

"Talking of reactions did I ever tell ya of de time Cloud and Tifa replaced James and Jessie. The first time I brought up James habit of cross-dressing to dem, Tifa took one look at Cloud and den burst out laughin'...

The voices faded out into the distance leaving behind an empty open plain.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connection-"

"Kanan! I've got it!" Ezra exclaimed. Held around their chest just under the front legs, the rest of their body sagging downwards as it dangled in the air, the feline-like subject of the day's lesson purred docilely in Ezra's hands. 

Kanan stared at his looping Padawan with slight amusement.

"Congratulations! You've finally managed to connect with the cat that we have had a lesson planned around for however many loops we have done this for. Glad to see that you can learn things eventually." Kanan teased Ezra.

"No, not that!" Ezra shifted his hold so that he was holding the animal in his arms against his chest, instead of letting them continue to dangle. A now somewhat freed hand stroked between two furry ears causing the ambient purring to increase in rumble. "I mean I've managed to identify this girl's species. I know what they are called."

"Ah yes, you've managed to solve one of life's great mysteries." Kanan said to Ezra consolingly. "And what pray tell is the answer to this great mystery."

"I give you..." Ezra shifted his hand to indicate his small passenger. "The Loth-cat."

A slight gust of breeze, a small meow from the Loth-cat in question, and a lone non-native tumbleweed rolling by was the multi-verse's reply to that announcement.

"Kinda anti-climatic." Kanan offered as a reply while absently observing that the out of place tumbleweed had disappeared abruptly, as suddenly as it appeared, from the vast open plain they stood upon. Where had that even come from?

"Heh!" Ezra chuckled once before frowning. "I know right! It's like someone cut off the last two letters of Lothal and just stuck 'cat' onto the end. Not very original, is it."

Ezra gave the Loth-cat one last pat on the head before lowering the cat to the ground and releasing them. The Loth-cat ran off into the grass, most likely to join up with other members of its group.

Watching as the grass moved with the Loth-cat's passage, Kanan asked Ezra.

"So beyond the name do you actually know anything else about them?"

"Just that," Ezra admitted breezily. "And that they hunt Loth-rats."

"Hmmm." Kanan hummed in consideration before nudging Ezra with good humour. "So that means that you're on their menu then." Kanan teased, referring to Ezra's tradition of being labelled with that epithet at some point in a loop. Sometimes by the looping members of the crew themselves, though in good fun and with warmth behind the ribs. Ezra wasn't just a Loth-rat, he was their Loth-rat.

"Oh hah hah hah!" Ezra droned out, quietly amused despite himself. "Very funny." He glanced sideways towards Kanan. " You do realise that this creates a new mystery."

"And what would that be?" Kanan asked as he started to move back towards the distant Ghost, Ezra following suit.

"What exactly are Loth-rats." Ezra answered, a slight wry smirk on his face.

What did he mean by that? Kanan wondered. It was obvious what Loth-rats were, they were... they... Kanan paused in his thoughts as he realised that he had no idea what a Loth-rat actually was. Digging into old memories he could only recall hearing Loth-rat being used as a label, mainly as an insult, but the implication to the term was that the individual was like the mentioned animal. An animal native to Lothal, Kanan realised, that he had no real memory of. No recollection of the creature's form or habits. He couldn't recall a single detail.

"Something else lost in the damage." Kanan mused quietly out loud.

The baseline, the universe's history, the stored information of everything contained within had been damaged when the first Crash had originally occurred. Distance from the epicentre apparently reduced the effect, whatever distance meant when dealing with 11th-dimensional space, and the entire multi-verse was set to infinite repeat to stabilize what had survived. The long, long, long passage of time as the loops stretched out never-ending were creating opportunity for the original trauma to be healed, but there was still damage remaining. The injury that had been dealt to their universe's code was marginally compared to certain others, but there were things that fell through the shifting cracks. The prime example amongst the Spectres being Sabine's constant lost past, a more subtle one being Ezra's parents and sporadically his inability to track them down in the loops. Sometimes he could find them or, in the worst case, what had happened to them but intermittently the trail would disappear into the ether, leading to nothing, an unexplained absence and even the Force couldn't offer any guidance. Each time something along those lines occurred, a strange occurrence, a new detail in a person's back-story, or in this case an overlooked absence of an entire species, it highlighted a remaining wound in Yggdrasil's codes.

"Yes."  Ezra replied having caught Kanan's quiet words.

It had been a surprise to him when he realised that a well known species was non-existent and no one on the planet seemed to notice. The most surprising thing about it to his mind was that none of the Spectres had noticed the lack of the Loth-rat in all the time they had been looping. With how long they had overlooked this, what else might they be missing?

The two loopers walked back to the Ghost in introspective silence.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connec- What the!?" A non- Awake Kanan gawked in surprise.

"Hmm, did you say something?" Hera said from where she lounged upon the grassy ground where she had been joined a veritable horde of Loth-cats purring as they sprawled in synch with her, basking in the sun's rays.

Hera suppressed a giggle as she took in Kanan's look of bewilderment. She had taken up the role of Kanan's padawan this loop. It was a game the crew occasionally played when Kanan wasn't Awake, a game of 'Who's the Padawan this time?' and Hera had been the nominee this time.

Hera slowly smiled as Kanan spluttered. It was always fun to mess with the man a little.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connection-" A non-Awake Kanan stopped in shock.

An Awake Sabine not really paying attention to his speech shifted the angle of her held screwdriver.

"You know I think if I connect the blue to the red wire then..." Sabine prodded the exposed innards of the device she was working on.

"That's not what I meant at all! Put down the explosive!" Kanan's panicked voice yelled.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connection-"

Ezra prodded at the small feline through the Force.

"We're both irritable, does that count?"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connection-"

Kanan halted his lesson as he felt his student's Force presence shift, the well-known changes signalling Ezra's was Awake. The presence grew exponentially in strength, eclipsing the padawan's former presence easily before just as quickly fading back to its original levels, the Anchor establishing barriers to muffle and hide his true strength from the world. The whole event happening so fast that if you weren't expecting it, it would have gone unnoticed.

The automatic shielding had become a habit for any of the Force-sensitive loopers who had managed, with the length of time offered by the loops, to raise their levels to such that a uncontrolled outburst would echo far into the Force and ripple as far as the Core Worlds. The last time someone had slipped up, Zeb had stubbed a toe and yelled loudly, the Empire had responded with force. Darth Vader at the command of the entire 501st Legion, Vader's Fist, had jumped into Lothal's system under orders from the Emperor to track and eradicate the threat. Despite being the cause Zeb enjoyed the ensuing conflict, the Lasat had boarded each ship one after another and personally punched out every Stormtrooper on board, but it had been a major headache for the rest of the crew keeping the planet out of the crossfire.

"Hey Kanan!" Ezra chirped cheerfully. "Feeling loopy?"

"No more than usual, Ezra." Kanan replied, before glancing towards the horizon. "We have a bit of time until Hera weighs anchor. Anything new with you?"

Ezra considered for a moment before something in the waving grass caught his eye.

"Well," Ezra waved his hand towards the slinking Loth-Cat." I was a bit bored and so did some research. Since I found that that little cat's species name I was curious if there was anything behind the name at all. Now I don't know if it was at all intentional but did you know that in the Hub loth relates to loath which can mean reluctant or unwilling." Ezra indicated the now hissing Loth-cat. "Seems a apt description."

"Yeah, your right." Kanan agreed, his focus not on the feline. "It fits perfectly." He reached over and cheerfully ruffled Ezra's hair. "It was such a struggle at the beginning to get you to feel a part of the crew, eh you little loth-rat."

Ezra pouted and in a display of mock-anger brushed away Kanan's arm, marching off towards the distant Ghost.

"I don't need to stay and be insulted." Ezra called back, a fake frown fixed on his face.

"Ah cheer up." Kanan teased as he followed behind, not fooled by Ezra's act at all. "You warmed up to us eventually."

"Yeah." Ezra's imposed scowl gave way to a warm smile. "I did."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"We have to make a connection." Ezra Bridger interjected, his humour about that particular line buried behind a serious countenance.

Dr Egon Spengler gave him a look before turning back to Dr Peter Venkman. "That's right." He took a deep breath. "We'll cross the streams."

"Excuse me Egon." Peter protested, a shocked look on his face. "You said crossing the streams was bad."

"Cross the streams..." Dr Raymond Stantz, Ray to his friends, murmured ruminatively to himself.

"As bad as being crushed by a giant Stay Puff Marshmallow Man?" Ezra posed the query as a hypothetical, despite the subject in question climbing up the building they were currently standing atop. "That was then, this is now."

"Don't joke about that!" Winston Zeddmore begged his younger colleague.

Peter glared briefly at the duo before focusing back on Egon.

"You're going to endanger us, you're going to endanger our client. The nice lady who paid us in advance before she became a dog."

"Not necessarily" Egon hedged, his eyes nervous. "There definitely a very slim chance we'll survive."

Well that made all the difference? Peter thought sarcastically before glancing at each member of their cowering group. Egon attempting to act assured but unable to hide the fear in his eyes. Winston sighing, looking like he would rather be somewhere else right now. A tired Ray looking solemnly towards him. Ezra appearing unconcerned at that moment but there a flicker of emotion buried in his expression, though Peter guessed the adrenaline junky was hiding excitement rather than worry.

Ezra was still something of a newcomer to the team and still a bit of a mystery to Peter. He was sure the kid was younger than his identification claimed but the young man's arrival had been a godsend to the team when they had first started out. When they had been extremely low on funds Ezra had turned up and offered to sponsor them, providing funds with the only condition being that he could join as a member of the team. Upon joining he had managed to fit into the team making jokes, pulling pranks, working alongside Egon as he developed his eco-gear, somehow understanding Egon's geek speak. Not bad for a newcomer to their dysfunctional group.

Still, despite the difficulties, flaws and hang-ups, they were his friends and right now the world's survival relied upon this team's success. Besides better to out with a bang than a whimper.

"I love this plan!" Peter exclaimed, reaching over to give Ray a friendly wake-up slap. "I'm excited to be a part of it! Let's do it!"

"The job is definitely not worth another five a year." Wintson yelled as the team rose to their feet, scurrying for the open portal.

"How about ten?" Ezra teased back, as the Stay Puff's flaming hand crested the top of the building behind them.

"Not now!" Egon scolded, planting himself in position before the gate. " Hurry!"

Peter turned to his left side companion with a slight grin. "See you on the other side Ray." And turning back to the portal Peter fired up his proton pack.

"Nice working with you, Doctor Venkman." Ray replied, a slight smile growing on his face, before igniting his own stream of protons.

Behind them a roar sounded as the Stay Puff's head finally crested the lip of the building.

Five beams slowly met, the wielders shaking as the unstable energy twisted and wrenched at them. Part of the team Ezra couldn't hide a smile. Joining the Ghostbusters and being a part of the team had put the Anchor in quite high spirits. They were a riot to work alongside. He had to remember to grab some ghost traps before the loop ended. He could think of a few ghostly or spiritually entities so assured of their untouchably forms who would find the devices a rude awakening.

Under the combined onslaught the gate imploded and exploded at the same time, severing Gozer's connection, as the five men dove for cover. The Stay Puff Man howling as the blast wave vaporised it.

* * *

 

 **35.2     [Rules]** (numair2304)

Booted feet marched in unison as Stormtroopers in full regalia marched, their current display being part of the celebrations on Empire Day. And standing to attention overseeing the parade Agent Kallus couldn't help glaring at the sea of soldiers flowing past, their white armour shining slightly from the sun overhead. Many a Stormtrooper quailed as they felt that gaze pass over them.   

The origin of Kallus's bad mood had been an anonymous message, the techs had been unable to track its origin, that had appeared on his personal terminal that very morning. It was obviously a taunt from the rebels, the most recent of several messages that had left behind in the rebel's passage.

Security over the day's proceedings was his duty, it was possible the rebels would act and the message had brought to attention a possible avenue of attack. They was taunting him. Was the message a threat or a diversion? Were the rebels right now moving around, hiding in plain sight. Kallus glowered as the Empire's troops continued to march, their features hidden beneath their armour.  Or was the whole thing a decoy to distract him from whatever else they had planned.

His glaring was interrupted as Yoyo Awoke with a blink and started to catch up on the events so far that loop. Recalling the message his unAwake self had received, Yoyo resisted the urge to face-palm.

The message was definitely not native to their loop and hadn't even been the first his unAwake self had encountered this loop.

{"Rule 1. My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones."}

Sending off a Ping, Yoyo received multiples replies. Hopefully that meant the entire crew was Awake. He would have to wait until after the ceremonies to discover who exactly was Awake. As he resigned himself to continue standing at attention he wondered who had decided it was a good idea to tease the Empire with the Evil Overlord list?

Later he would discover it was all of them.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Inside a damaged cargo bay Agent Kallus oversaw matters as his men went over the scene. One Storm-trooper approached him.

"One of the rebels was using this helmet. The transmitter was on." The Storm-trooper handed over the helmet.

Kallus considered the implications and smiled.

"Sir that's not all." The trooper continued. "It appears that one of the rebels left this behind."  Handing over a slip of paper.

Kallus shifted the helmet to one hand and received the paper with the other. On the paper was simply written 'Rule 2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.'

Kallus smile turned grimmer. The boy probably thought it was amusing to leave such a taunt about the gap in their security but the boy had made a serious mistake. The boy had been wearing the helmet, had overhear the recent orders and now Kallus knew the rebel's destination. The Spice Mines of Kessel. As he started to issue orders to the troops Agent Kallus made himself a personal promise. The rebels had escaped him twice today, there would not be a third time.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

'AGAIN! AGAIN!' The Grand Inquisitor mentally snarled to himself as he struggled at the Force binders binding him, the squads of Stormtroopers that had accompanied him in similar straits through with more mundane bindings.

Once again those frelling rebels had gotten the better of him despite him having what should have been all the advantages. The tracking beacon fixed to their vessel couldn't be removed easily, the rebels couldn't out run a Stardestroyer for ever. The rebels had run for cover and the Inquisitor had charged after them with what he believed was sufficient force. After the debacle at the Spire he had decided not to leave anything to chance and had ordered additional troops to accompany them to seize the rebel group. In the end their superior numbers had made no difference whatsoever. The rebels had toyed with them, with him, the Inquisitor thought with loathing, most directed towards the rebels but some at himself for allowing himself to be fooled. The attack had seemed to take the rebels off guard, left them struggling against the Inquisitor and his forces. The moment he had been assured of victory, the moment he proclaimed his triumph aloud was when the tables had been turned completlely and abruptly. The rebels showing their true skills and quickly bringing down every Stormtrooper and himself in less than a minute.   

Regaining conscious the Inquisitor had found himself bound to the floor of the cavern, his troops in similar conditions, and as a final insult for his defeat, the message written in the dust before him.

"Rule 6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

At his desk, inside the Imperial Complex, Yoyo finished typing up his changes to Lothal's Imperial Forces Rules and Regulations. After proofreading the updated R&R was uploaded and sent to the entire Complex's command staff. Yoyo of course made sure that the update wouldn't be backtracked to his personal terminal, especially with his additions he made to the rules. Number twelve was one he agreed with in particular.

{"Rule 12. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation."}

Most of the command track stationed at the Complex needed such an advisor in Yoyo's opinion. He had lost track of the times when he felt like banging his head, or at least someone's head against a wall after reviewing the latest plan an officer offered up for perusal and noticed the glaring problems that everybody else had either ignored as unimportant or hadn't noticed. What made it worse was that most of these people weren't dumb and once an alternative was pointed out would agree with the change, they had the habit of viewing every problem that came across their desks as a nail and the only solution as a hammer.

Of course the loopers themselves had their own equivalent of a five-year-old child. Though, Yoyo snorted with a suppressed laugh, both Chopper and Ezra might be offended at the comparison despite how apt it was at times. If there a flaw in a plan they would expose it with open amusement or they would take to the plan with such enthusiasm that everyone else involved would be suspicious.

Thinking about the Spectres, Yoyo considered that despite his own amusement with their jokes involving the Evil Overlord rules after being subjected a couple of times to their fallout he deserved some payback and what better than to hoist them on their own petard and use the rules against them.

Yoyo cackled and rubbed his hands together as he started to scheme. This was going to be fun.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Darth Vader paused in the doorway of his expropriated office as he picked up on the inconsistency. He had no real inclination to use such facilities as he preferred his own but it became necessary when stationed in one location for extended periods. The room had been secured as he started on his duties and as such had been sealed since his departure, seals that he had just released. Despite that Vader knew that someone had been inside the room while he was gone, subtly though the Force whispering to him but more obviously the sheet of paper placed upon the desk centrally, a document that hadn't been there previously. Walking forward, not sensing any traps Vader carefully picked up the sheet and read the two rules listed.

"Rule 18. I will not have a son. Although his laughably under-planned attempt to usurp power would easily fail, it would provide a fatal distraction at a crucial point in time."

"Rule 19. I will not have a daughter. She would be as beautiful as she was evil, but one look at the hero's rugged countenance and she'd betray her own father."

With a pulse of fury the paper scrunched in Vader's hand, the desk following shortly with a screech of twisted metal as the surrounding floor, walls and ceiling cracked under pressure wave of the Sith's fury.

He didn't have a child, SHE had died and THEIR CHILD along with HER.

Blind fury slowly converted to cold rage as Vader turned his attention to how someone had slipped into the room and what he would do to the individual who would dare such a thing. Buried deep in his subconscious and ignored despite trying to get attention were the thoughts that the things he should be doing right now was hunting down and killing young roguish smugglers of the male persuasion.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"All those for."

One hand and one pincer raised in the air.

"All against."

Four hands raised in the air.

"So that's two for and four against revealing the next rule to the Empire." Hera said, agreeing with the resolution.

"I still don't see a problem with it." Ezra complained sullenly, Chopper whistling in agreement with him.

["I agree. None of the locals are involved and there's hardly any chance that anyone who knows would understand what the rule was implying."]

"And if by some chance they do?" Kanan asked.

" Yeah Ezra, we definitely don't want to give the Empire any inclination to look closer at the plans for the Death Star." Sabine commented.

"What if they decide to look closer at the project and realize what Galen has done. If they get that far then aren't they going to be curious how someone on the Outer Rim suggested anything at all to do with their project and the next thing we know there's an invasion fleet in orbit.. We don't need another invasion fleet in orbit if the Emperor gets paranoid."

Rule 25. No matter how well it would perform, I will never construct any sort of machinery which is completely indestructible except for one small and virtually inaccessible vulnerable spot.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Upon the Spire's landing platform the scattered troopers fire dwindled to nothing as the rebel's small craft rose beyond their range, all invading parties on board escaping the prison's trap. Now that the rebels were gone the troopers started to take account of their causalities, the damages to the facility and to extinguish the burning wreckage of former TIE fighters. Throughout these actions the troopers tried desperately not to pay any attention to a stationary figure on the platform glaring towards the sky at the rebels last sighting. Rigid as a statue with a snarl on his face, the Grand Inquisitor stood there covered in neon green, vivid turquoise and radioactive orange colours. The troopers knew that the fallout from this disaster would already be harsh but were smart enough to realise that commenting on the figure's current state of dress would be suicidal at best. They also secretly prayed that the Inquisitor wouldn't notice the words that had been carved into the mountain above the hanger's door and thus were now directly above the Inquisitor's current position.

"Rule 29. I will dress in bright and cheery colors, and so throw my enemies into confusion."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Tarkin gulped, trying to hold back his nausea as he spun nearly weightless through the air. Around him the flight crew on the bridge of his command ship, Sovereign, were in similar straits.

A turn, a weave, one gag reflex repressed again and Tarkin had a clear view outside of the bridge. Nausea was replaced by anger briefly as he glared at the sight of his fleet of Stardestroyers performing a three dimensional waltz in the emptiness of space.

The fleet had been in a state of constant readiness when they had been caught unaware by a cyber attack that had somehow bypassed all of their defences. (Unknown to the Imperials none of their precautions and defences took into case a teleporting droid with a literal mountain of pranking credentials.)

Music had started to blare from every available speaker, the Stardestroyers engines powering up in unison and the ships had started to fly in set patterns. All ships in the fleet found their gravity generators and inertial compensators messed with so that the now near weightless crew found their movements mirroring the ships new exterior movements.

A pivot, a grapevine and Tarkin was facing a console screen which displayed the broadcast that had started this whole mess off.

{"Rule 50. My main computers will have their own special operating system that will be completely incompatible with standard IBM and Macintosh powerbooks."}

Though he didn't know it now, later Tarkin would be informed that every screen on the waltzing Stardestroyer fleet had been displaying the exact same message. As it was, at that very moment Tarkin's main focus as he heaved and gagged was resisting the urge to vomit. Though blearily he wondered what even were IBM and Macintosh?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

_BTHead: Yoyo, Are you training the troops again!?_

_BTHead: They're getting closer to hitting their targets!_

_BTHead: I'm serious!_

_BTHead: Zeb is smiling again!!_

_Yoyo'd: O_o_

_Yoyo'd: I'm sure I have no idea what you mean._

_BTHead: YOU'RE USING EMOJIS AGAIN!!_

_BTHead: IT'S NEVER A GOOD SIGN WHEN YOU'RE USING EMOJIS._

_TheIronSpeaker: Pay no attention to the whiner Yoyo._

_TheIronSpeaker: Just ignore him._

_TheIronSpeaker: Been an improvement on the fights I've had this loop._

_TheIronSpeaker: Work on their physicals next._

_Yoyo'd: o/\o_

_Yoyo'd: Will add it to the schedule._

_BTHead: And now you're both working against me._

_BTHead: This is revenge for springing the rules on you, isn't it?_

_Yoyo'd: XD Well I need to go back on duty, talk to you again later Zeb and Ezra remember Rule 56._

Rule 56. My Legions of Terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

An alarm blared throughout the Imperial Complex and in one of its many corridors a single Lasat paused in mid stride.

"Welp, took them long enough, time to leave." Zeb murmured, his latest victim groaning on the floor nearby.

Since Yoyo had managed to improve on the troops training, Zeb was determined to get a better fight out of them and stress testing the Complex's forces seemed a good method. Infiltrating the Complex, moving around stealthily and disabling every patrol he ran across had been fun.

Though they definitely had to work on their reaction time, Zeb thought accompanied by an amused huff.

Over twenty patrols had been left lying unconscious on the floor before someone had either noticed, or in fit of paranoia, set off the alarm. The fallout amongst the Imperials from this incident would probably be huge but it should offer Yoyo a valid excuse for training the troops into the ground to try and avoid a repeat of such an incident.

Zeb started making his way to the closest exit. Ezra was probably going to whine at him about this but Zeb had done his research and could honestly point out at least two rules that covered his actions.

Rule 67. No matter how many shorts we have in the system, my guards will be instructed to treat every surveillance camera malfunction as a full-scale emergency.

Rule 70. When my guards split up to search for intruders, they will always travel in groups of at least two. They will be trained so that if one of them disappears mysteriously while on patrol, the other will immediately initiate an alert and call for backup, instead of quizzically peering around a corner.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sitting in a chair, Maketh leant back in the deckchair, the chair creaking slightly at the shift in weight. Sitting in another chair beside her, Hera filled Maketh in on the current antics whilst watching over the rest of the crew's current antics with an amused smile. Maketh also had a slight smile as she listened to Hera and watched the surrounding scene as well. The crew had decided welcome Maketh with an  impromptu cookout.

To one side Zeb and Chopper were clustered by a sizzling pan arguing between themselves over the best technique to properly sear the meat. Zeb was currently  stating that the lack of taste buds devalued Chopper's opinion, Chopper disagreeing with heated whistles.

On another side, Ezra and Sabine were in the middle of a drink mixing contest, though they had moved from the native mixtures and on to more exotic out-of-loop concoctions.

Hovering over them, Kanan kept a worried eye on the duo and their currently concurrently smoking creations. Dragged into the role against his will, Kanan had tried to use his position to reduce the chaos but the weary look on his face suggested that he had given up hope that he would avoid the inevitable explosion.

Lifting her eyes above the scene, Maketh took in the more distant vista. It was quite a contrast.

Where she sat, the sun was breaking though the clouds, the Spectres amusing themselves with their tomfoolery, the crew and ship's current safety from the Empire established by a cloaking device well and their position beyond the city limits.

Here was safely, colour and amusement.

Her view shifted towards the distant Capital City. Over its buildings, multiple Stardestroyers hovered ominously in the overcast sky. In the Imperial Complex inside the city, though she couldn't sense it herself, a glacial presence, Vader, stalked the building inspiring fear in all the Imperial forces that crossed his path. The citizens were scared, feeling the threat over their heads.

There was grey, cold and an all-encompassing fear that one step wrong would lead to...

Maketh flashed back to the sight of blood spilling on the office floor, the smell of cauterized flesh...

Maketh tore her eyes away from something she was powerless to change and focused on the conversation instead.

"So these rules come from the Hub?" Maketh asked, interrupting Hera. "From an evil overlord list."

Hera gave Maketh a considering look but answered her question. "Yes that's right. Pretty much the rules cover everything an aspiring overlord should consider in their attempts to rise to and sustain power. Many a villain would have avoided their doom if they had read them."

"The fact that both Tarkin and Vader are here, if I didn't know better I would think the Emperor had read rule 80." Kanan added, planting himself down in an empty chair.

The drinks competition had ended in a draw when both Ezra and Sabine had mixed together a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster - Looper Edition each. (When Zaphod Beeblebrox discovered that his classic 'Best Drink in Existence' was considered mild throughout the multiverse, he had thrown his whole being into creating an improved version. Said drink was currently banned from consumption in over seventy universes.) Kanan had hastily confiscated the drinks from the two, shoving him to the security of his Pocket, declared them both the winner and had quickly escaped to the safely of Hera's presence.

"You have a point." Hera mused. "Rule 88 could also fit, especially if Yoyo hadn't posted Aresko and Grint off-world before Tarkin could make them examples."

"They're alive!?" Maketh exclaimed with shock, her mind reflexively recalling the scene. Two pairs of eyes briefly filled with terrible awareness, the burning hiss of a lightsaber and the thuds as what used to be two people hit the floor in four pieces. "I know that they aren't the best of people but still that..." Her involuntary shudder made her miss the look between Hera and Kanan.

"So... about the rules, would you like a copy?" Kanan asked.

Thankful for the distraction from her memories Maketh nodded. "I think I would like to read them."

Rule 80. If my weakest troops fail to eliminate a hero, I will send out my best troops instead of wasting time with progressively stronger ones as he gets closer and closer to my fortress.

Rule 88. If a group of henchmen fail miserably at a task, I will not berate them for incompetence then send the same group out to try the task again.

* * *

 

 **35.3     [Warriors]** (numair2304)

Rusty opened his eyes and blinked taking in his surroundings. He wasn't inside the twolegs nest and there was no forest to be seen. Instead he found himself upon a vast rolling plain of grass with the occasional hillock, an overcast sky overhead. Rusty sighed, so far everything he could see pointed towards this not being his home. Checking over his body he was happy to find that he was in his normal form, unlike the last time he found himself away from home. Even the stupid collar was in its usual place, he swore the thrring thing was following him through these time loops no matter how he got rid of it. It had been somewhat interesting that time being a twolegs for once but he much preferred being in his real body. At least here, wherever he was, he was in his proper shape.

Climbing to the top of the nearest hill he set four paws upon its summit and swivelled his head slowly to study the surrounding area better. It appeared that he was in the middle of nowhere, if he was to survive here he needed to locate water and watch out for any local predators. This terrain was too open for his liking and his orange coat would probably make him stick out more than he wanted. Noticing a darker patch of land in the distance Rusty started heading towards it, judging that there was a slim chance of something being there even if in all likelihood it was just a pile of rocks.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have to make a connection-"

A yowl of annoyance came from the side. Turning Ezra and Kanan observed an orange cat wearing a blue collar glaring at them.

*Please don't let this be another stupid twolegs world* Rusty hissed in annoyance scratching at his blue collar irritably. Were there no other cat or clan worlds out there!?

He was annoyed that after all his walking the the dark patch on the horizon had turned out to be not a pile of rocks or a decent thicket of trees but instead was a group of artificial nests, the sort of nests that the twolegs lived in and now he'd discovered a pair of twolegs standing out in the plain. Surely the multiverse wouldn't so cruel as to place him in a purely twoleg world. Was it too much to ask to find himself in a world occupied by cats or clans. Rusty snorted in derision, twiddling a claw. Yeah right, this here was Yddsdrasil's cup of care and oh look it's empty.

"Uh Kanan..."

Kanan reached out with the Force. Using the Force it was possible to make a connection to a mind, the problem was that the connection was usually spiritual and emotional allowing influence rather than direct communication. Once a bond was established direct and meaningful conversation became as easy as breathing but to constantly brute force such a connection with a unbonded mind was wearing and only allowed a sliver of communication. Still it was enough to get a point across.

"Not only a new looper but a new Anchor." Kanan said to Ezra dropping the connection. "Right now he's complaining about being in another world filled with twolegs." Indicating where the cat was hissing and scratching harder at the collar.

"Let's grab Zeb and see if he can communicate with our new companion." Ezra headed back towards the Ghost.

"Zeb understands feline?" Kanan asked, pausing to indicate to their new acquaintance a shift in location.

"The way he picks up languages I wouldn't be surprised." Ezra called back

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

*So you start your loop as a kittypet, a collared house pet and you receive an offer to join ThunderTribe-"* Zeb sitting on the sofa kept eye contact with the cat sitting on the table as he made sure he had the looping tom's story right.

*Clan, not tribe.* Rusty interjected studying Zeb with some slight interest. He had been unsure at first whether to follow the two twolegs he had first encountered but this new twoleg they had introduced him to had made it worthwhile. Not only could this Zeb talk the clan's tongue but his own instincts could recognise a fellow warrior, even if they slightly resembled a giant furless squirrel.

*Sorry,* Zeb acknowledged his mistake. *You join ThunderClan as the apprentice Firepaw, ThunderClan being just one of the several Clans that exist in the surrounding territory. You have to deal with external threats such as the ShadowClan's current leadership and policies while on the home front you have to deal with a traitorous senior warrior who secretly murdered the previous deputy of Thunderclan in the hopes of gaining power.* Zeb snarled at such betrayal, Rusty echoing in agreement. *Despite these existing obstacles following a successful rescue mission of kidnapped kits you are granted the name Fireheart and the status of a warrior.*

*Yes that's correct.* Rusty didn't understand some of the terminology Zeb used to describe certain parts but the main premise of his story came across.

*Good,* Zeb said pleased. Information on a new loop was always welcome as there was decent chance to Wake up within it and having knowledge of some of the things occurring the background could sometimes help avoid nasty surprises. *I'll explain the basics of your timeline to the others after I've filled you in on our loop but first a more personal question before I explain our loop, what name would you like for us to refer to you by?*

*Pardon?* Rusty asked confused.

*During your explanation I noted how you referred to yourself with three different names. Rusty, Firepaw or Fireheart depending on where in the timeline you were. Judging from your reservations to your pre-Clan life,* Zeb paused casting a discerning eye over the orange tom. *Us calling you Rusty for the rest of the loop is not something you'd particularly enjoy. And while I suspect you would wish to be called Fireheart, I suspect your personal code prevents you from using the names ThunderClan gave to you.*

*You see more than most do.* Rusty said with a smile. His instincts were proved right, Zeb was a warrior with his own code, similar enough to his own to recognise his dilemma. *Fireheart as of now might be my true name in my thoughts and actions but it and its former Firepaw were earned but the ThunderClan that honoured me with them does not exist here, it feels wrong to wear them without the Clan's approval.*

Zeb considered the problem and snapped his fingers.

*How about a compromise. You choose a name for yourself.* Rusty gave the Lasat a curious look. *A name to use in the loops when there are no Clans. As a tribute to ThunderClan you could use a another term for fire like Inferno or Blaze.*

Rusty considered the idea, it was worth considering and testing out for a loop to see if it felt right. But what name would feel right to him. The twoleg named him Rusty, the Clan granted him the title of Fire. It was an honour that he didn't want to use without approval but what name would represent that. What was Fire? Fire was flickering and etheral, it was warmth, it was intensity, it was ardour, it was eagerness, it symbolised destruction, it symbolised hope... He recalled how during one of his loops Bluestar had once referred to him as a flame of hope for the Clan. Flame... Decision made he stood up before Zeb.

*Greetings looper Zeb, warrior of the Lasat tribe. I am Flame, anchor of the Warriors loop, ThunderClan's warrior Fireheart.*

Zeb gave a savage grin. *Nice to meet a fellow warrior, we'll have to organise a spar later on. But now I'll fill you in on the baseline of our loop.*

* * *

 

 **35.4     [Fade]** (numair2304)

"If you let your guard down like that, we won't know what will happen!" The black haired girl yelled out as she ran along the sidewalk.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry Miss I'm-happy-I-got-free-bean-paste-sweets Kuchiki." The orange haired boy running just ahead of her sarcastically replied.

"Ichigo!" Came the irritated retort.

On the same sidewalk but heading in the opposite direction Ezra couldn't help shaking his head slightly in disbelief as the loud duo passed by him. Pausing for a moment, he glanced at the two moving away still arguing loudly. Kuchiki Rukia, the shinigami with drained powers stuck within a gigai (false body), and Kurosaki Ichigo, her Substitute for the time being spiritually outside of his body at the moment. It was really funny that two people who were supposed to be concealing the existence of the spiritual side of the world had no concept of subtlety.

To the spiritually unaware Rukia appeared to be yelling at mid air for no perceptible reason, luckily most of the observers would just perceive her as weird and dismiss her as something odd and unimportant. Ichigo, currently a outside his body as a spirit, would normally draw no attention at all since in an average town the numbers of the spiritually aware should be very low to be negligible but in this case they were located in Karakura Town, the current locale in the Human World with the greatest concentration of spiritual beings. The chances of him being noticed by the locals was greatly increased, not including his volume and his horrendous control over his vast reserves of reiastu.

In the distance Ezra observed that a particularly large shout from Ichigo caused some reaction in the people surrounding the teen. Not much of a reaction Ezra concluded studying the people intently, there was the odd twitch as their senses registered the loud boy but it appeared that their conscious minds were ignoring it.

Ezra considered that it really wasn't that surprising a concept that quite a few people living in the town could perceive spiritual beings somewhat, Ichigo's friends were a clear example, but the ones outside of Ichigo's group of associates probably wanted to live their lives normally and adopted the Karin approach to what they encountered and ignored them when possible as unimportant or unnecessary for day to day living. In truth Ezra thought that wasn't the worst idea as acknowledging the spiritual side of things seemed to garner more attention from the same spiritual side. Hollows would hunt more interesting prey, Shingami would take note of any living being that showed abilities.

Still watching the arguing couple Ezra caught one last flash of orange hair before it disappeared around a corner. Coming to a decision Ezra adjusted the glasses his current self wore, he found his weakened eyesight slightly annoying, and set off to follow them. His lack of visual contact not hindering his pursuit as he was sure he could notice Ichigo's spiritual presence even if he was in the next town over. As he followed the trail Ezra ruminated over how despite encountering Ichigo several times already this loop Ezra still found it surprising how small and tiny the young Ichigo's current presence felt to him. It was a stark difference between his baseline self and the looping Anchor, if Ichigo's current state could be ascribed to as a mere spark, a brief flare of flame, then his Anchor self would be a star, a celestial incandescent body. Of course Ezra acknowledged ruefully all of the Original Seven had a similar stature of authority, he'd encountered gods that had less presence than the Original Seven. It still came as a bit of a shock at times to see the original origins of the Original Seven. The potential was there within them, the only thing separating them was time, experience and the confidence of character that came from those eons of experiences.

Thinking more about his current circumstances Ezra realized that this was now his fourth time experiencing an Original Seven Verse for the first time without the local Anchor in residence, no replies to his Pings so far suggested that he was the only one Awake. He'd previously ran through Shinji's baseline without the self same Anchor Waking and had passed through Konohagakure and Nerima enough times to receive the same experience. He'd experienced Hogwarts the same but with that being such a common loop for loopers it was high odds that most of them had passed through without Harry being Awake occasionally . Still, Ezra considered, at this point in the loop it was early in the timeline, there was every possibility that Ichigo would Wake up later into the loop.

During these thoughts Ezra had managed to get the still arguing duo back in his sightline. He couldn't recall enough fine detail of the baseline to remember what exactly what they were running towards but so far the loop seemed to be baseline and the plan was to engineer a meeting between himself and Ichigo, aiding with whatever problem they had found would be a decent enough introduction. Though, glancing at the cross hanging from his wrist, he mused that it was not exactly baseline since he was replacing the loop's resident Quincy. Ezra found the bow a curious construct to use and was studying it in the hopes of creating a slingshot variant that he could replicate. Speeding up as he rounded a corner Ezra considered that at least this meeting of Quincy and Substitute Shingami shouldn't be as disastrous as the original in the baseline. No way was he going through with that stupid Hollow hunting competition that Uryu forced upon Ichigo.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Later that same month Ezra sat on the river bank watching the water flow past below him. It had been a interesting time after he'd circumvented the original events and introduced the Quincy to Ichigo earlier in the timeline than usual.

That had fun, watching Ichigo and Rukia's surprised expressions to his unexpected aid during their current Hollow problem and then afterwards Ichigo's flailing attempts to get answers from either himself or Rukia. Rukia had conceded and then forced them both to suffer through her drawings as she attempted to describe the problems between Quincy and Shinigami. That first meeting had gone well with him and Ichigo bonding slightly over their criticisms of Rukia's drawing style. What was with that girl's obsession with drawing bunnies? Anyway he'd concluded with offering to help them both with the Hollows appearing around town. Of course the orange haired idiot tried to say he didn't want to put anyone in danger, Ezra snorted at the memory, he had hit Ichigo over the head for that statement while explaining that type of sentiment wouldn't stop people choosing to get involved or others unknowingly getting dragged in. After that Ichigo agreed grudgingly.

Ezra had then sprung another surprise on Ichigo at their next meeting, well technically two since Ichigo had been oblivious to the people around him not to realise that he and Ezra had been attending the same classes at school at school the next day Ichigo had spluttered in surprise at observing Ezra sitting at a desk. Anyway the surprise Ezra had sprung on Ichigo was claiming that he'd been studying his families genealogies and discovered that his father and Ichigo's mother were related which was technically true, they were actually cousins.

Since that revelation things seemed to be going well. They had worked out a decent strategy for dealing with invading Hollows. He could detect Hollows well before Rukia could get a report on them and could keep them pinned down until Ichigo could arrive. He had also organised sparring matches between himself and Ichigo. When Ichigo commented that a sword against a bow didn't seem an equal matchup Ezra revealed the alternative spirit weapon to the bow that he had created for himself, a saber. He was quite proud its current production but he was hoping to improve on it and was struggling to incorporate a slingshot into the hilt like he had in his lightsaber.

The spars had proved beneficial to both of them. Ichigo had a lot of power and raw instinct which got him through his battles but lacked experience and a solid foundation of the basics. The matches were helping Ichigo learn to hone his battle instincts and Ezra to fine tune his Quincy abilities.

"Oi Uryu!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice of Ichigo yelling, Ezra let his shoulders sag. _'I knew things were going too well.'_ Turning he spotted Ichigo heading towards him.

"The old man's disappeared!" Ichigo came to a halt beside Ezra.

"You mean your father..." Ezra rose to his feet. Why would Isshin disappear at this time?

"No not Goatface! Old man Zangetsu!" Ichigo exclaimed.

Ezra just blankly stared at Ichigo. _'His inner spirit?'_ Ezra had suspected that Ichigo was starting to feel something from his blade but surely this level of communication was way too early in the timeline to occur.

"We were talking when suddenly he went silent and when I went to check on him I couldn't find him." Ichigo continued.

Looking at the novice Shinigami, Ezra could commiserate with the people who found Ichigo's growth rate abnormal. Not only had he managed to talk to one of his spirits earlier than in baseline but he could apparently consciously drop into his Inner World to check on him.

"And now there's a bleached white copy of myself there instead."

"What!?" Ezra yelped.

"The old man's gone and my blade's changed shape. Rukia has no idea what's going on and has gone off to try and get some answers. I came to you hoping you might of heard of something like this before."

"What did the 'other you' have to say about all this?" Ezra asked, forlornly hoping what he suspected wasn't true.

"He hasn't really explained anything. When he spotted me he starting cursing something fierce about stupid trees and braindead anchors and he hasn't stopped." Ichigo said with a wince pointing to his head.

Ezra resisted face-palming. So Icihgo wasn't Awake but his hollow spirit appeared to be. How did that even work? Zangetsu was a part of Ichigo's soul given form. _'Why do I have the sinking feeling that I'm destined for Eiken or Hogwarts next loop.'_

"Ask him if he's feeling loopy looking for an Anchor." Ezra said coming to a decision. The plan had been to follow the baseline with slight tweaks to keep things predictable but if the multiuniverse itself was going to interfere then it was best to run with it. No more being subtle.

* * *

 

 **35.5     [Wings of the Master]** (numair2304)

"So how was flying the first B-Wing prototype?" Zeb asked Hera as they sat inside the Ghost's lounge. Hera had just informed Zeb about the details of the new extension.

"It was fun!" Hera exclaimed with a delighted laugh. "The whole thing rattled, creaked and felt like it was going to fall apart at times but it flew. I'll have to take it out again for a spin sometime.

"You are the designated pilot," Zeb commented with a smirk. "You're the first choice flying it whenever we return to Shantipole. Though," Zeb mused, recalling that pilots called Shantipole a one-way trip thanks to the composition of its atmosphere, a combination of gases and lighting. Ships that flew in the upper atmosphere had a tendency to lose power when struck by a discharge, that combined with planet's unpredictable wind patterns and mountainous spires led to pilots crashing rather than recovering and landing safely. "Knowing the stories pilots tell about that place I'm surprised I willingly agreed to come along."

"Well about the B-Wing, I might not have to wait that long to fly it again." Hera remarked, deciding not to inform Zeb that his unAwake self hadn't heard of said stories until they were midway through their tumultuous descent of Shantipole's atmosphere. Zeb gave her a questioning look about her statement and Hera explained. "I might have borrowed the Blade Wing and placed it in my Pocket before the loop ended."

"Starting to build yourself a little ship collection, are we? First that TIE fighter, now the Blade Wing. What's next an A-Wing, maybe even a YT-1300 Corellian Light Freighter." Zeb teased, a smile on his face. He didn't bother mentioning the Ghost (Corellian VCX-100 light freighter) that Hera most assuredly had stored in her Pocket as every member of the Spectres had their own stored copy of the ship.

"That was different, Sabine wanted to keep it and she didn't have room so I offered to store it." Hera protested, ignoring the little voice inside her that questioned whether she should consider storing a copy of the Falcon. "The Blade Wing's something to work on in my free time and Sabine was interested in improving on its weapon package."

"Ok ok. You're not building your own personal fleet. You're not considering it at all." Zeb openly yielded to her protestations with amused grace. "Going back to the topic of Shantipole, I am curious about something."

"What?" Hera asked.

"How in the Rim did you manage to fly both the Phantom and the Blade Wing safely off planet through that mess of storm clouds?"

 "Oh," Hera replied as she started to explain. "Well what we did was..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 35.1: Making a Connection cont(10.5, 11.1, 11.9, 14.6, 18.1, 22.1, 25.2, 30.2)  
> It was a bit of a surprise to me to find that 'loth' actually means something in the dictionary.  
> Ghostbusters, still a great movie despite the passing of the years.
> 
> 35.2:  
> Managed to use quite a few of the rules fit certain situations.  
> Emoji translation: O_o Disbelief, o/\o High-five, XD Laughter
> 
> 35.3:  
> Inspired by Scoddri's Warrior Cat loops.
> 
> 35.4:  
> Will take suggestions of how to prank the cast of Bleach.  
> Current targets in mind - Mayuri, Aizen, Yourichi, Uraraha, Vizord?
> 
> 35.5:  
> Loop extension.  
> Just realized with this sketch that the Ghost and the Falcon were constructed by the same company.  
> Zeb's final question, I also would like to know how they accomplished that.


End file.
